Associated Press
OLYMPIA — Tim Eyman filed his latest anti-tax initiative Tuesday with the Secretary of State’s Office. The measure takes aim at mass-transit taxes in Puget Sound and would roll back some vehicle and boat taxes.
Washington’s most prominent tax rebel unveiled the initiative over the weekend. The formality of filing a draft proposal gives Eyman an early start on his fifth initiative campaign in four years.
Calling the measure the Right to Vote on Higher Vehicle Taxes Initiative, Eyman said he’s seeking to fulfill the promise of 1999’s successful Initiative 695 — $30 car tabs. Although I-695 was thrown out by the courts, lawmakers replaced the hated motor vehicle excise tax with a flat $30 fee. However, various fees and local taxes still boost the cost of tags to more than $100 for some drivers.
Eyman’s latest initiative would repeal add-ons, including a $3 filing fee, a $15 local-option transportation fee levied in Douglas, King, Snohomish and Pierce counties, and an excise tax for Sound Transit in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties.
"Without this follow-up, tag creep will continue until your fees are again obscenely high," Eyman told reporters.
Among other effects, the initiative could halt Sound Transit’s multibillion-dollar light rail project in the Seattle area. Eyman argues the project, plagued by budget problems, isn’t what voters approved when they created the regional transit authority in 1996.
The initiative would also:
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