That you ran John Burbank’s article supporting the regressive tax for Sound Transit 3 (ST3) without a rebuttal is disappointing (RC, April 26, “Cuts to car-tab fees could mean a loss of millions each year for Sound Transit”).
My income is 36 percent of the median income in King County. Along with this tax and increases in property tax and sales tax, my budget and those of a lot of other people are being seriously assaulted (presumably the owner of the Range Rover mentioned in the article isn’t cutting into his food budget to pay $406 for his car tabs).
The 2017 cost of my car tabs for a 2012 Prius C is $244, a $164 increase over 2016. It is based on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of my car when it was new. I bought the car when it was four years old, and it is now worth about $10,000. That ST3 “increases annual car-tab fees by about $80 for a vehicle valued at $10,000” isn’t true, unless more than two times $80 can be defined as “about.” The city of Seattle gives a $20 refund for residents. I live in Shoreline, which is not so “generous.”
Washington already has the most regressive taxes in the U.S. Bureaucrats and voters continue to think up new projects that will increase the property and sales tax even more. It’s time to consider the drastic impact these taxes are having on the elderly and those who make up the “less than median income” portion of residents.
S. Melville | Shoreline
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