About the Author
Download the full Policy NoteKey Findings
- State lawmakers and Governor Inslee are imposing a record level of property taxes on the people of Washington state.
- The total property tax burden is decided each year by elected officials at the local, county and state levels.
- This year’s large increases are meant to be mostly offset by reductions in local levies two years from now.
- State data show that increased spending has not improved student learning.
- Since 2009, lawmakers have increased education spending by $9.7 billion, up 75%, while student test scores have remained flat (inflation over the period was 18%).
- The rising tax burden imposed by officials falls hardest on the poor, immigrants, working families and the elderly living on fixed incomes.
- Elected officials can choose to reduce the tax burden, which benefits poor families the most. A growing economy still generates rising revenue from other sources to fund public services.
Introduction
Homeowners and business owners around the state are seeing steep increases in the annual property tax burden imposed on them by Governor Inslee and state lawmakers. The largest increases are being imposed on people living in the Puget Sound region.
This Policy Note provides a description of why property taxes are going up by so much and explains why the voter-approved 1% limit on annual increases in property tax collections has not limited the rate of tax increase. This paper provides an overview of the tax increases people are experiencing statewide and in the most populous counties, and it presents recommendations for how the governor and other state policymakers can, in future years, reduce the property tax burden they impose on the public.