Clarifying state excise tax

Wayne Attwood wrote a letter regarding his opinion the state excise tax on the sale of a house is unfair, and I just wanted to clarify a couple of issues.

First he states the excise tax (1.78 percent in Spokane County) is usually passed onto the buyer. This is false, and with very few exceptions this is traditionally a cost to the seller and has been for decades.

Also he calls it a flat rate. This is true but it is a percentage of the sales price, which I noted above, so even though the rate is the same for a $250,000 home as a $5 million home, the amount is tremendously different - $4,450 vs $89,000.

So in spite of the fact it is the same rate, the payment is related to the price and value of the home, which Attwood said it isn’t. In other words, the higher the value the more tax the seller will pay. A more expensive home pays more tax.

I felt this needed to be clarified because it seemed he was saying a less expensive home pays the same amount as a more expensive home. They pay the same 1.78 percent, but not the same amount.

Greg Schuster

Spokane