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January 10, 2011 in City
Divided council rejects Spokane tab tax
Spokane’s car owners won’t have to pay an extra tax to help pay for streets.
After months of debate, the Spokane City Council on Monday rejected a $20 annual fee on vehicle tabs.
Council members Bob Apple, Steve Corker, Nancy McLaughlin and Jon Snyder voted against the tax. Council members Richard Rush, Joe Shogan and Amber Waldref supported it.
The outcome was affected by a vote earlier in the evening on a plan to require 10 percent of the revenue of a tab tax to be devoted to sidewalk and other pedestrian construction projects. That proposal failed also on a 3-4 vote. Rush, Snyder and Waldref supported the proposal.
Snyder said after the meeting that he couldn’t support the fee once it was determined that none of it could be used for sidewalks.
“I’m not creating any more pots of money in this city that exclude the 15 percent or so of our citizens that don’t own or drive cars,” Snyder said.
Spokane Mayor Mary Verner said in an interview before the meeting that she would support creation of the fee, no matter how the council voted on the sidewalk issue.
MAC faces angry crowd 
tommyt37 on January 10 at 7:38 p.m.
Ahhh nothing gets done business as usual
misjustice on January 10 at 8:08 p.m.
We paid this $20 fee in KC, MO suburbs almost 30 years ago. Spokane is sooo behind everyone else.
Not only did we pay a city fee but we paid a $40 county fee. Yep, $60 a year to live there & use the roads. Wonder what the fees are today? HUMMMMM
TheRoyLarsen on January 10 at 8:52 p.m.
This (Spokane Tab Tax) was not as much a necessity now since the fire and police unions made concessions. But somewhere, somehow, someone will find fault with that too.
blaze on January 10 at 8:56 p.m.
Yea but you know what!…. look what we pay here in Washington State in FUEL TAXES to drive these pot holed roads….. nuff said.
DavidBray on January 10 at 9:09 p.m.
The problem with these nickel and dime taxes is that they keep piling up on the citizens. The Mayor could care less. What we really need is a mayor who gets off their butt and spends some time in Olympia working to change laws so we can use more creative and efficient ways to fund our city.
The City Council voted the right way this time, but it should have been unanimous.
west on January 10 at 9:13 p.m.
I see another $100 million bond issue coming up for another 10 years…to take care of roads…..remember folks, wages and pensions and benefits for Spokane city workers eat up 75 percent of all money’s taken in…nothing left..
RK on January 10 at 9:41 p.m.
Snyder won’t support a car tab tax to help streets because it excludes the sidewalk improvement for those who don’t drive. Wow… what a moron. If they don’t drive, they most likely won’t have a car , therefore would not pay A CAR TAB TAX. And this is a portion of the braintrust running our city. God help us.
Alfredo on January 10 at 9:53 p.m.
@blaze, gasoline taxes have never kept pace with inflation and with the cost of fuel. If you were taxed as a percentage per dollar vs. percentage per gallon, you’d be shocked at how much money the federal and state governments would have collected over the years.
Oh the whining I hear in this state, a state with no income tax, how sad.
And why should a tab fee go toward sidewalks? If it did, I’m fine with that but to vote against it because it doesn’t? That makes no sense.
Dazzeetrader11 on January 10 at 10:38 p.m.
Hi David!! How are you???
Anyway..it’s good to see who voted for both issues. Typcial Verner…trying to pig out with more taxes for her general fund so she can raid it and act inoocent.
Get rid of Rush, Snyder, Waldref and Verner…all unworthy to hold office. Tax and spend!! Just so predictable. Funny part is look what the little greenie liberal Snyder says about not creating a “pot of gold”? to the exclusion of the 85 %? That’s what he’s saying. Not to worry…John…you won’t be re-elected.
Rush is gone in 9 months (someone who wants Spokane to do well)….not just bikes and trees. Verner will be gone in 9 months ( a very very good candiate will be running against her). Shogan is soon retired. Spokane needs a middle right consensus builder and one is coming.
These guys have punished Spokane too long with the greenie agenda. Doesn’t any ask what Verner’s done in her 3 years? You should…it’s a very short list. Not much but she surely spent.
jddavis on January 10 at 11:20 p.m.
Alfredo—gas is taxed at a set amount per gallon, not at a “percentage per gallon”…what ever that means.
sixtoo on January 10 at 11:35 p.m.
RK, you have FEET? If not, you’re the “moron”. Transportation is not, will not be subsidized by cars.
Alfredo on January 11 at 12:38 a.m.
jddavis, since it is a flat amount per gallon, it could also be said to be a percentage of a dollar amount per gallon so I apologize for not being clear enough for your brain to handle.
Simply put, unlike most products that are taxed as a sales tax, gasoline tax is special because of its fluctuating nature. Originally the tax was placed in such a way that it could be better budgeted (unless sales fluctuated too greatly, x amount of dollars would flow into the federal and state funds). Had those people known that gasoline would rise more than double in the past ten years, I’m sure they would have rather taxed gasoline at a percentage per dollar spent on gasoline versus a SET AMOUNT PER GALLON, thus raising the tax by more than double as well.
Dazzeetrader11 on January 11 at 1:20 a.m.
RK’s correct. Quite the group of geniuses running the City now. Enough smarts to bankrupt the place..and get nothing for it. Nice.
nslopeofw on January 11 at 5:18 a.m.
No new taxes are needed. Use the ones in place wisely.
Who cares if the sidewalks have cracks? The city already has the emissions scam. What does that pay for? What does the sales tax (without a cap) pay for? What about property taxes?
The biggest problem with our local government spending is their need to supply non essential services. All we need are schools, police, fire, roads, etc. City beautification is something you worry about when times a good, not when they are as bad as the economy currently is.
I remember voting to get rid of the state licence tax on vehicles that rewarded people for driving old, gas guzzling pieces of garbage, and penalized those who bought new more efficient ones. lets require a vote from the people, rather than the council for all proposed taxes. I bet th majority would vote against them.
Any of you who think we need sidewalks, .feel free to go on down and give the city your money. Leave the rest of us out of your fluff dreams.
lewis8457 on January 11 at 7:12 a.m.
the city like sidewalks it is place for the plows to put snow.
years ago when the citizens voted in the lower fee for tabs. i knew it would not work. Why, no state income tax. When i lived in portland sure the road are nice and the tabs are cheap but I was paying 16% in State income tax.
Far more then any tab in Washington would cost me.
where did the money go? Remember the toll bridge on maple street? people paid toll for years and then when they looked in the money bag it was empty.
jddavis on January 11 at 7:23 a.m.
Alfredo, you are the deep thinker who wrote your post. Am I responsible to conclude what you really meant instead of what you posted? You were questioned on your statement and had to retort with a playground insult towards me; impressive.
avocet on January 11 at 8:27 a.m.
Thank dog this thing failed. Why should city residents bear the entire brunt of street maintenance when plenty of COUNTY residents, many with studded tires, beat up our streets every single day?
liberal_in_right_wing_land on January 11 at 9:32 a.m.
Good thing this didn’t pass, why should we have to pay to fix the roads we destroy every winter? I refuse to pay anything anymore, I want to be greedy and keep all my money for myself because I can never buy to many gas guzzling road killing SUV’s.
decturkey on January 11 at 9:50 a.m.
Lewis,
I just put in to a tax calculator from http://www.oregon.gov/DOR/taxcalc.shtml for taxable income of $10000. You come up with “The tax on taxable income of $10000.00 for a person filing single, married filing separately, or registered domestic partner filing separately is $692” Looks like 6.92%. Or lets say you are filing jointly and are making good money. “The tax on taxable income of $50000.00 for a person filing married filing jointly, registered domestic partner filing jointly, head of household, or widow(er) with dependent child is $4074”. That comes out to be 8.148%. Seems like the Income tax rate is pretty close to or even a little lower that what we pay for a sales tax rate.
Alfredo on January 11 at 12:48 p.m.
jddavis…whatever that means
dukkandpooh on January 16 at 6:33 a.m.
turkey:
Oregon’s tax rates are 5/7/9 percent, depending on your income. The difference is that you pay that tax on all of your earnings. A sales tax, regardless of what rate it is, is only paid on your purchases. Big difference.