State Senate passes, sends House a bill to cut car-tab taxes, change vehicle valuation system

OLYMPIA, Wash. -- By a 25-20 vote, the state Senate on Tuesday passed and sent the House a bill that would cut car-tab taxes for those paying the Sound Transit fees and tie car valuations to "true market value," the Senate Majority Coalition said.

The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Steve O’Ban, R-University Place, said the measure would slash car-tab taxes in the Sound Transit taxing district (King, Pierce and Snohomish counties) by 55 percent and "tie car valuations to true market value as determined by Kelley Blue Book or the National Automobile Dealers Association."

The manufacturer's suggested retail price, or MSRP, is now used to judge the valuation of a vehicle for car-tab tax purposes.

“It’s time for the House to join us and pass real car-tab tax relief – not some shell game that relies on a property-tax hike and a cooked-up valuation schedule," O'Ban said.

The Senate on Tuesday also passed Senate Bill 5001, O’Ban’s bill to require the popular election of Sound Transit board members.