In today's Seattle PI, King County assessor Scott Noble takes aim at a good property tax proposal supported by AWB. He fails to hit the target. Here's the story by Chris McGann.
"This change ... will produce the biggest property tax increase onto residential property owners in the history of the state of Washington," Noble said in an e-mailed warning last week to Finance Committee chairmen.
What could it be? A massive increase in assessed valuations? A sneaky levy passed in the night by out-of-control councilmembes? A new joint NASCAR-Sonics-Huskies stadium funded by a steep homeowners tax?
Nothing that dramatic. Simply a proposal to make it easier for property owners to challenge the assessed value placed on their property by assessors like Noble. I write about property tax issues and our proposal in this column in Washington Business.
Here's McGann's description of the bills in question.
House Bill 2977 and Senate Bill 6517 would make it easier to dispute local property tax assessments -- an easy sell in a region that has seen property taxes increase as real estate values have gone through the roof.
Sponsors, who include high-ranking Democrats and Republicans alike, say the change would provide a tool for overburdened taxpayers and protect property owners.
"This just lowers the bar for citizens who have to make their case if they think their valuation is too high," said House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam.
Noble warns of a big shift from business to homeowners.
"In our budget-based property tax system, reductions of valuations will produce tax shifts onto other taxpayers, and my experience with advocates from our large commercial taxpayers suggests a large increase of appeals and lawsuits from these property owners who have sizable resources," Noble said in the e-mail.
Homeowners have historically been much less likely to appeal property value assessments because they have less to gain, he said.
More likely, they've been intimidated by the steep burden of proof currently required. Besides, if the assessments are accurate, there's no shift. Right?
