‘The irony is rich’: Brian Heywood slams ‘super aggressive’ property tax ahead of Tuesday’s protest

Frustrated homeowners will rally against a controversial property tax Tuesday at 5 p.m. on the Capitol steps.

Activist Brian Heywood of movement Let’s Go Washington told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH “the irony is really rich in Washington.”

“We’re worried about homelessness, we’re worried about affordability, we’re worried about taxes that are, as they say, not progressive, and then we go into a super aggressive tax like this one, especially when they’re talking about allowing the increase to be 3 or 4%,” he shared.

Heywood believes the government is disregarding everything else homeowners have to account for.

“I think people feel it. They know it. What Washington, what Olympia, is ignoring, is that it’s not just the rate, it’s that all the other regulations that they’ve got going that makes it difficult to build houses when we have a low supply, a high demand, that makes the valuation more expensive. So then the rates going up on the value of your home already going up. So you get a double whammy, and it just puts people out of even be able to afford to live in the state,” he said.

Washington Democrats’ property tax plan

A 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.

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.

“When it comes to talking taxes, we get this doublespeak speak, and I guess the good thing is, I don’t think people are as stupid as Olympia thinks they are, and I think there’ll be a pushback on it,” Heywood rebutted.

As for Tuesday’s protest, Heywood is asking people to bring their property tax bill with them.

“I’m thinking about doing a raffle, or you put your property tax bill in—and it doesn’t cost anybody anything, everybody can participate—but you put your tax bill in and we would pull one out and the lucky winner, we take care of the property taxes. We’re still working to see if I can make that all work.”

Listen to the full conversation below:

Contributing: Matt Markovich, KIRO Newsradio

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