Are you tired of paying hundreds of dollars for your car-tabs? You’re not alone. Earlier this week, 286,003 signatures were submitted by Tim Eyman for Initiative 976, which would reduce car-tab fees to $30 and get rid of the Sound Transit motor vehicle excise tax. The measure needs 259,622 valid signatures to qualify, and more signatures will be turned in over the next week or so.
Assuming the measure qualifies, it will be voted on by the legislature before appearing on the ballot. The Everett Herald reports that “initiative 976 is a proposed initiative to the legislature. If it qualifies, state lawmakers will have the option to adopt it as written or not, in which case it would go on the ballot. Lawmakers also can put an alternative measure in front of voters as well.”
The same article goes on to say I-976 “would lower car-tab fees on passenger vehicles to $30 and eliminate the 1.1 percent in excise taxes approved by voters to fund Sound Transit light rail projects.”
This initiative would put more money back into the pockets of residents in the Puget Sound area that are dealing with sky high car-tab fees due to Sound Transit. The large transit organization uses a vehicle valuation system that is extremely outdated and has lead to skyrocketing car-tab fees. Not only is the valuation system old, it has even been previously repealed by the legislature. Earlier this year, KING 5 reported that “the state legislature did away with the 1996 valuation schedule in 2000 and replaced it with a new schedule in 2006.”
As Sound Transit has continued to use a repealed vehicle valuation system that leads to car-tab fees of hundreds of dollars, many Puget Sound residents are rightfully upset. Voters got more than they bargained for with the new car-tab tax increase. Thankfully, it looks like an initiative will soon appear on the ballot and voters will be able to voice their distaste for the terribly high car-tab fees.