Initiative Filed To Roll Back Cost Of Auto Tabs

Tue., Jan. 5, 1999

From Staff

Two Seattle-area businessmen filed an initiative Monday that would roll back vehicle license tabs to $30 a year and block state and local lawmakers from raising taxes without a public vote.

The measure was filed with the secretary of state by Tim Eyman of Mukilteo and Marty Rood of Seattle. They were co-chairmen of an unsuccessful initiative drive last year to phase out the car tax. They failed to get enough signatures to get on the ballot.

The latest car-tax proposal would cut taxes by an estimated $1.1 billion every two years, eliminating nearly three-fourths of the income that state and local governments get from the source, the state Office of Financial Management said. In November, voters gave themselves a $30 per vehicle tax break, worth $258 million in the next two years.

The new plan would charge a flat $30 for any vehicle - car, truck, sport utility vehicle, motorcycle or motor home - regardless of value or age. Currently, the tax is based on both age and value. The measure also says state and local legislators could replace the lost revenue with other tax increases only if they get voter approval.

Sponsors have until July to collect about 180,000 valid signatures to win a place on the November ballot.

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