Last month we learned that King County Councilmembers Reagan Dunn and Kathy Lambert proposed a funding plan to save criminal justice funding from the budget axe. (Redmond Reporter, June 17, 2010). Part of the plan involved a trade-off between collecting less property taxes (a small reduction) and raising sales tax revenues (a sizable increase).

Then, last week we learn that Mr. Dunn and Ms. Lambert have voted against a sales tax increase, designed to lift King County from its budget woes. The new plan apparently puts the sales tax increase on the November ballot. Besides the bad idea of increasing the sales tax in King County; there is another problem with property taxes approaching state limits.

The first article states: “County officials learned last week that the combined total of local tax levies, including an eight cents per thousand increase from the King County Library District, would exceed the statutory state cap of $5.90 per $1,000 of assessed value.”

There is no magic, sleight of hand tax plan that can remain “revenue neutral.” A sales tax increase is especially painful for folks who rent, and a sales tax increase hurts low income folks. King County administrators must reduce services, and its payroll without increasing the sales tax burden on folks who are caught in a bad economy. VOTE NO on sales tax increase in King County.

Richard Morris, Redmond