The poor legal reasoning of Judge Mary Roberts’ ruling makes it look like she was looking for a technicality that could be used to change state policy on property tax limitation. Our research shows that, since passage of Referendum 47 in 1997, limits on property tax collections were working as intended and were broadly supported by the people of Washington.

Judge Roberts is wrong in saying that voters were “incorrectly led” when they voted to limit increases in property tax collections to 1% a year. The voters knew exactly what they were doing — they wanted to slow down the annual rise in the property tax burden imposed by the state and local governments. Judge Roberts’ ruling reverses the peoples’ decision and will likely lead to tax increases for millions of Washingtonians.”

Washington Policy Center has closely tracked property tax limitation in Washington state over the last eight years using research based on statewide surveys. Our published research on property taxes is available at www.washingtonpolicy.org.

Paul Guppy
Vice President of Research
Washington Policy Center, Seattle