Recent letters to The Herald have focused on how the increasing value of houses has impacted their property taxes. A September AARP Bulletin article, “The Big Sqeeze,” reported that U.S. Census Bureau statistics for the year ending 2004 show that property taxes had risen nationally by 24 percent and sales tax by 12 percent, while income tax collections actually shrank.
A few years ago the Gates Commission recommended a change in the Washington state tax structure. Their recommendation included the reduction of property taxes and the constitutional amendment to implement a less regressive state income tax.
It is time for Washington state legislators and voters to wake up and recognize that now is the time for a change. We must approve a state income tax and a related reduction in property taxes. The option for inaction: The low and medium income people being forced out of their homes, the failure to pass school bond and levy issues, and the further deterioration of the infrastucture of our beautiful state.
Robert D. Knight
Snohomish
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