Especially in Western Washington, sentiment about tax avoidance seems to be increasing, which is reflected in particular in the issuance of bonds.

According to kouw.org,
‘Kirkland’s pool tax isn’t the only one to have failed recently. School taxes have also failed in Kent, Auburn and Enumclaw. These trends have King County Tax Assessor John Wilson asking, “Are we on the brink of a tax revolt?”

I personally have seen my property taxes go up and sometimes down over the years, but then go back up again. I’m older, I’m single, I don’t have kids in school anymore. Why am I paying these types of property taxes? The answer is because I’m doing my part to help fund the education of all of our children (and grandchildren) in Chelan County.

Luckily, I don’t have a steady income yet. If I did, I’d probably try to get an exemption from property taxes. But right now, that’s not the case, so I’m happy to pay.

To be honest, I don’t think it’s really about increasing property taxes, but rather about levies that lead to additional property taxes.

According to kouw.org,
“Over the years, state laws have limited the amount of property tax increases city and county governments can raise. Currently, they cannot increase property taxes overall by more than 1% per year. This means that local governments’ ability to fund their services is not keeping pace with inflation, which is currently at 3%. Therefore, governments must ask voters to approve special levies that voluntarily increase property taxes.”

I guess that’s why we vote on levies and why we choose or oppose paying additional property taxes to fund things like building schools, public pools, and other public improvements.

I like public improvements, I am for public improvements.

I just don’t like paying for it. I’ll do it, but I don’t have to like it. (But that’s just me)

KUOW – Are we on the verge of a tax revolt in Washington state?
KUOW – When it comes to Seattle’s property tax assessment, renters are not immune