Frustration grows as lawmakers feud over Washington’s property tax cap

If you’ve been scratching your head about what’s really going on with property taxes in Washington State, you’re not alone—and lawmakers know it.

In dueling press conferences on Wednesday, Democratic and Republican leaders in the state House and Senate tried to cut through the noise surrounding a controversial proposal that would allow local governments to raise property taxes by up to 3% annually, up from the current 1% cap.

And let’s just say, they’re not exactly thrilled with how the public conversation is playing out.

“There’s a lot of misunderstanding about how property tax works,” said a clearly exasperated Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle) during the Democrats’ weekly press conference. “When you have people mentioning a tripling of the property tax, that is completely inaccurate and false.”

1% cap initiated in 2001

The 1% cap was established by Initiative 747 in 2001, reflecting voters’ desire to rein in property tax growth. Although the state Supreme Court struck down the initiative in 2007, the Legislature promptly reinstated the cap during a special session called by then-Governor Chris Gregoire.

Now, Democratic lawmakers want to replace that cap with a formula tied to inflation and population growth, potentially allowing increases of up to 3% per year. They argue the current cap handcuffs local governments trying to keep up with rising costs and growing demand for services.

According to Democratic leaders, the current system is so misunderstood it’s practically chaos. They emphasized that most of a homeowner’s property tax bill doesn’t come from those capped rates set by state or local government—it comes from voter-approved levies. That includes school bonds, fire district levies, and even super-local stuff like seawall repairs.

Pedersen said the proposals on the table are being wildly misrepresented, calling out “demagoguery” and “false claims” fueling fears of giant tax hikes.

Republicans hold press conference

Meanwhile, Republicans held their own press event Wednesday, flanked by landlords, renters, and first-time homebuyers who said they’d be hurt by lifting the lid on property taxes.

Pedersen’s counterpart, Senate Minority Leader John Braun (R-Centralia), didn’t hold back: “It replaces the 1% cap with no cap at all.”

Because the Democratic proposal would tie property tax increases to inflation and population growth, Braun pointed to recent inflation trends, warning taxes could rise “as high as 10% in a single year.”

He added, “It ends up being about $1,000 per person for an average home,” before correcting himself with what he called a more realistic estimate: “Probably closer to double that.”

Republicans argue it’s not just homeowners who’ll feel the squeeze—it’s renters too.

“Housing providers have to pass their costs through to renters,” Braun said, warning the bill could create “an additional $2,000 a year” burden for both groups.

Democrats, however, said Republican math is off.

Pedersen pointed out that even raising the local cap from 1% to 3% would only impact a relatively small portion of a property owner’s overall tax bill.

“So no, unless your house is worth five million bucks, then maybe there would be a $1,000 hike,” Pedersen said.

Democrats are also trying to soften the blow for Washington’s most vulnerable residents. They highlighted that Senate Bill 5798 would offer full property tax credits to low-income seniors and disabled veterans—a first, they said, for the state.

Democrats pushing rent stabilization bill

In a rare moment of bipartisan overlap, Pedersen noted that a few speakers at the Republican press conference had also raised concerns about rising rents. Democrats are pushing a rent stabilization bill that would cap annual rent increases at 7%, a move Republicans are resisting.

Braun, however, pushed back on the idea that the proposed tax change would fix Washington’s regressive tax system—a point Democrats often cite.

“The property tax is regressive. I’m not making that up, that’s just what their study says,” he quipped.

In the end, Democrats’ message was this: Yes, property taxes might go up—but the horror stories are exaggerated. No, this isn’t a sneaky scheme to soak homeowners. And yes, they get that people are nervous. But the fix, they say, starts with a better job at explaining how property taxes work.

The GOP’s message to Olympia? Killing the 1% cap might look like a clever revenue move—but for a lot of Washingtonians, it feels more like a fast track to being taxed out of their homes.

The property tax proposal will be part of a broader Democratic budget rollout expected next week.

Matt Markovich is the KIRO Newsradio political analyst. Follow him on X.

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