Cheaper car tabs could mean cuts to more than just Sound Transit
Jan 16, 2018, 11:14 AM | Updated: 4:01 pm
(MyNorthwest)
(MyNorthwest)
State lawmakers are debating whether or not to give drivers relief from hefty car tabs related to Sound Transit 3. But just how much relief they might give depends on how much funding they are willing to cut to ST3.
RELATED: Lawmakers consider car-tab payment plans, traffic cameras
Car tabs help pay for the $54 billion ST3 plan that will expand the light rail system to cities like Everett and Tacoma. However, many drivers are upset about the amount their car tabs increased and the ways in which those increases are being calculated.
“Sound Transit uses an outdated formula to calculate your tabs. It is incredibly favorable to Sound Transit and not so for drivers,” KIRO Radio’s Chris Sullivan told Dave Ross. “The legislature approved a new car valuation standard in 2006, one that was more favorable to drivers. But Sound Transit chose not to use it under ST3. So cars less than 10 years old are taxed at a way over-inflated value.”
Instead of using a valuation standard like the Kelley Blue Book, Sound Transit bases its calculations more on the manufacturer’s suggested retail price of a car, Sullivan said.
A bill introduced last year by Rep. Mike Pellicciotti (D-Federal Way) proposed calculating fees more fairly and then providing refunds or credits to drivers who previously had to pay more under the old system.
If fees are reduced, however, that means less money for ST3. Lawmakers are worried that reducing funding could mean delays to light rail expansion and other projects.
And ST3 isn’t the only thing that might suffer should car tabs become cheaper.
“They might also get rid of the $500 million Sound Transit has put into education funding,” Sullivan said. “As you might remember, that was the last-minute deal that lawmakers put in to actually get Sound Transit ST3 on the ballot.”
“That’s what Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan is planning on using, of that $500 million in education funding, to pay for free community college for students.”
