OLYMPIA – Initiative guru Tim Eyman delivered his newest measure to the Capitol on Monday, hoping a third statewide vote will be enough to make $30 car tabs stick with lawmakers.
Eyman’s latest measure – dubbed “Save Our $30 Tabs” – repeals several vehicle taxes and fees passed by the 2005 Legislature, and revamps the way government calculates a car’s value for tax purposes.
In a news conference at the secretary of state’s Capitol office, Eyman said state and local governments were forcing a third initiative on the subject by “spitting in the face of voters.”
“We’re entitled to $30 tabs because the voters have twice approved initiatives requiring $30 tabs,” he said. “Those two votes should have been respected.”
Eyman was the chief engineer of Initiative 695, which established the $30 vehicle excise tax in 1999.
He later ran 2002’s successful I-776, which renewed the voters’ preference for $30 tabs. That measure spawned a legal challenge, a portion of which is still being considered by the state Supreme Court.
The latest version of his car-tab tax limit takes aim at the court case by ordering rail and bus operator Sound Transit to stop collecting its regional excise tax.
The initiative’s supporters also hope that basing a car’s value on its purchase price will keep any future car taxes tacked on by lawmakers lower than in the present system, which is based on suggested retail prices.
State Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, stepped in to question Eyman’s initiative, spawning a minor shouting match between the two men.
Kline later held up a copy of the state’s proposed 2006 supplemental budget while asking Eyman which programs should be cut to make up for his tax-cutting measure.
He said Washingtonians approve of some reasonable vehicle fees because they know the money is put to good use.
“People are going to make the connection: The taxes they pay go to pay for services they need,” Kline said.
Eyman opponents, citing a state Department of Transportation estimate, said the new measure would cost the state about $2.5 billion over 16 years.
Activists filed several other initiatives on Monday, including efforts to repeal the state’s estate tax and strengthen prison terms for sex offenders.
Initiative supporters have until early July to gather 224,880 valid signatures required to secure a ballot spot.
The measure prohibiting estate and inheritance taxes in Washington is “about the most simple initiative you’ve probably ever seen,” sponsor Dennis Falk of Fox Island said.
“It’s morally wrong to use death as a triggering device to levy a tax,” he said.
Another measure would send sex offenders convicted of rape, molestation and other serious sex crimes to prison for life without parole.
Sponsor Tracy Oetting of Skykomish did not return messages seeking comment.
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