King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn introduced legislation today to provide Transparency in Taxation.
The legislation would require that every property taxpayer in the county receive an itemized statement showing where their property taxes are going. Currently, the many property owners who pay their taxes through their mortgage company don't receive such an itemized statement. The ordinance is here.
Dunn's proposal is obvious fairness. I encourage the Council to adopt it. People who pay taxes deserve readily available and comprehensible information on what they're paying for. The only real objection that I could imagine is that those who wish to keep raising taxes would prefer to head off any resistance by giving the voters less information about what they're already paying. But even though I've had my disagreements with the Democrats on the King County Council, I find it hard to believe they wouldn't support the basic transparency and fairness in this proposal.
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at May 03, 2007 12:05 PM | Email ThisNot gonna' happen, gotta' keep the prols dumb and happy.
Posted by: JCM on May 3, 2007 12:36 PMSchools
State
SnoCty Roads
Fire District
County
SnoIsle Lib
Parks
Water Mgmt
There is a separate line that says how much of these taxes are "voter approved", though this number isn't detailed as to which (or a portion) of the taxes were voter approved. It doesn't always correlate to the schools, fire district or library numbers.
That said, it's way better than nothing.
Posted by: SouthernRoots on May 3, 2007 01:11 PMItemization would be responsible government and the KC council isn't really interested in that.
Either that or they'll simply kick the ball down the street.
No paper involved here - no extra mailing costs.
Posted by: B Anderson on May 3, 2007 01:52 PMAs in:
"You paid $1.25, total cost to transport you: $15, xx paid by City (xx Sales Tax, xx Hotel Tax), xx paid by County, xx paid by State, xx paid Federally."
Posted by: Al on May 3, 2007 02:27 PMstill, i surmise it will change nothing. look at the voters. re-electing the same people & programs. no cuts. no program sunsets. apathy.
now, only a detailed list of the thief's demands in place of one pointed at your snoot.
Posted by: jimmie-howya-doin on May 3, 2007 02:30 PMI would also advocate breaking down gas and liquor prices so people can see how much is going to the governement. I can imagine there are those who would finally get a clue that the price at the pump isn't all the fault of the "evil" oil companies. Heck, while we are at it, let the hospitals have the chance once a year to have a full newspaper page devoted to how much uncompensated and undercompensated care is handed out. People might finally get a hint that the government sure is taking a lot and returning little.
Posted by: Burdabee on May 3, 2007 02:45 PMbut give people a chance here with prop taxes to see EVERYTHING--after all, they are YOUR EMPLOYEES--don't you deserve a detailed travel voucher or likewise from your workers?
Posted by: jimmie-howya-doin on May 3, 2007 03:06 PMThe only question is whether enough people would bother to read this mail to be worth the cost of sending it. But since the original post implies that the county already sends it to some people, the cost of sending it to everyone should be modest.
Posted by: Bruce on May 3, 2007 03:49 PMAnybody else see the breakdown in the cost of the home and how much of the cost is influenced by government regulations? Pretty, pretty scary.
Of course, there is the age old argument that if we raise taxes and regulations up enough, eventually the money will be taken from the developer and not the home buyer.
There is all sorts of information citizens should have access to, but that does not mean that we have to spend tax dollars mailing it to them. If someone doesn't care enough to take the tiniest amount of effort, then why should taxpayers spend money sending it to them.
I am all for making the greatest possible amount of information public, but there are far more efficient means to do so then sending out hundreds of thousands of letters.
Posted by: Giffy on May 3, 2007 04:53 PMOne massive hike after another coming your way by Queen Christine and her gang of thieves...
Posted by: GS on May 3, 2007 05:53 PMIn the long run, I think that this'll me personally hundreds of dollars, and the rest of us millions. I wouldn't be surprised if the Democrats on the council try to supress this as much as possible without calling attention to it. They don't want to appear like they don't support our government sunshine laws.
Posted by: SeattleR on May 3, 2007 06:55 PMA way of forcing folks to actually spend that 5 minutes per year and KNOW something!
Posted by: Zeke on May 3, 2007 08:37 PMOh joy!!! Glad I took myself off the donors list now! That goes for blood too! I want a say in what I pay with MY BLOOD!!! Or I will take it with me!
It was Yuk and Yuk in my book!
If you knew how your tax dollars were being spent, you would stop paying.
Time for a real change, anyone stepping up?
Posted by: TG on May 4, 2007 06:42 AMOn my car tabs bill, I have an RTA tax and a vehicle weight tax.
I pay the gas tax.
Now I understand that the Gov will sign a law allowing local counties (cities?) to add up to $20 more dollars to the tabs for more "road" stuff.
Plus, they want us to vote for $30 billion more in taxes for trains, buses, and toll roads?
Sunshine laws and total transparency is what is needed to see how "our" government spends our money. Where does all the money they take in really go?
Posted by: SouthernRoots on May 4, 2007 08:32 AMBut KC will reject as they do all sensible ideas. You don't need to know what they are doing with your tax dollars. They are the elite.
Posted by: Jeff B. on May 4, 2007 08:32 AMBut KC will reject as they do all sensible ideas. You don't need to know what they are doing with your tax dollars. They are the elite.
Posted by: Jeff B. on May 4, 2007 08:33 AMThe reason that government doesn't work the way you want it to is not because of secrecy, its because you are in the minority.
Posted by: Giffy on May 4, 2007 09:24 AMI wonder Giffy, are you 'them'?
If the scum that run this state/King County keep it up, you wont be in the majority. In fact if you are too egregious, you might end up... Well, I think you might understand, hard to say though since you are no doubt a lefty, which translates into brain damaged.
Posted by: REBEL on May 4, 2007 10:06 AMNice idea in theory but in reality it will just create yet another Govt. agency that wastes more money.
I don't know who would be more disturbed by this, but, we totally agree on your last statement.
Posted by: REBEL on May 4, 2007 01:03 PMLook we live in a Republican Democracy. I am not sure who these elites are,but I take it they are the majority of voters who support Democrats in this state.
Fortunately the people want government to do certain things, like Public Health etc. The people also want government to provide a safety net. I am sure you don't, but tough luck. Hell I wish my tax dollars didn't go to the Iraq debacle, but hey the people elected Bush. If you want change then get people elected who will do what you want, but the only people you have to blame are the people who vote for our current leaders.
Katomar,
Changes to the budget generally have to go through the legislative branch. There is discretionary funds but they are generally limited to specific areas. All of this information is available. With some narrow exceptions almost all actions of government is available online, or through FoI requests. It's all there, people just don't care enough to find it out.
Lets break it down:
Sound Transit costs money to build. To build Sound Transit the Govt. hires construction companies. Those companies need material like steel, concrete, gas, etc. Prices on all those materials have risen dramatically in last couple of years (just look at gas).
To compound that there was a strike at a concrete plant last summer which pretty much shut down all construction leading to delays and cost overruns.
Maybe you should blame China for growing their economy so quickly thereby increasing prices for raw materials. You should blame Bush for getting us into the war which increased the price of oil from $25/barrel to well over $60/barrel. Maybe you should blame the striking workers for asking for better paying jobs. These are all contributing factors that one might not have thought of when they made the original budget for Sound Transit.
Bruce, do you really believe folks know how much tax they are paying??
If you are so confident of that, riddle me this...
How much did YOU, Bruce, a relatively bright guy, pay in taxes in 2006??
Give me the details please.
Not easy, is it Bruce!
There are soooo many hidden taxes in our purchases (like B&O Tax)...I don't think you can do it. In fact, I KNOW you can't.
Careful with those types of statements.
They make you appear like yer average Seattle-mouthy, uninformed KLOWN!
Giving someone a breakdown of how their property taxes are used won't change their perception of how much they're paying, but will help them think about how those taxes are used. Of course, their attitude toward that information will depend on how the breakdown is presented and the individual's attitude toward various types of public spending. But I believe that most people will be more comfortable with their taxes when they better understand how they're used. Indeed, I've always assumed that's why many government agencies, utilities, and charities eagerly provide this information to their constituents.
And Cato I understand the economy too well. I also know the tricks used to prevent road construction. the diversion of funds away from projects. The delays and excuses and the lies. It is very nature of government inefficiency. Lots of waste in addition to cost overruns. But when you couple road construction with Mass Transit who get the money first Roads or Mass Transit. Who will get to claim more money if there are cost overruns who which group will not have the funds. The answer is Mass Transit will eat all the money that is voted yes and the roads will get only a token amount. That has been the standard mode of operation for over a decade. Mass transit takes the front seat if their are cost overruns.
Lets look at estimates.
520 bridge 2 years ago they said between 1 and 1.5 billion dollars to biuld a new bridge. Latest estimate is 3 to 4 billion dollars. Is any attempt to find savings or increase what they want to ask for in funding in the vote this fall. No they want to be 300 Million short of funds so that as expenses rise for all the other Mass Transits projects they have a 3 Billion kitty to rob from. Everyone knows that they have to wait to get the next tax increase approved before they start work. on the Bridge. And they will want to tack on several billion dollars more of Mass Transit projects to get the funding to finish 520 bridge.
This bridge has been used how many times now for example of needing tax increases? Yet this emergency never happens. The funding is not their. Maybe we will see the start of building the bridge in 2050 at the rate they keep finding excuses not to start it. But they sure will try to charge tolls ASAP.
Bruce, I think you would be absolutely shocked at what % of Local Government Budgets is "Discretionary". They just make you believe many of these "Discretionary" expenditures are required or we will all have poor quality life or die. It's not so.
Basic REQUIRED Spending vs. Discretionary
We need much better accounting to the Public and auditing by the State Auditor.
You need to do a little more research. You said "You should blame Bush for getting us into the war which increased the price of oil from $25/barrel to well over $60/barrel." Where did you get this calculation from? Iraq is producing about the same amount oil as before the war. You might want to read up a little on China and India's increased use of fossil fuels. Can't really blame that on Bush though, can you?
Posted by: Calvin A on May 5, 2007 09:21 AMWell let's see...starting war in already unstable region where 85% of the worlds oil comes from. If that doesn't lead to higher oil prices I don't know what does. Seems to me Bush made both his friends and enemies richer all at the same time.
Yes, demand has increased but supply has also increased slightly. Obviously not enough to compete with demand. I'm not placing the blame squarely on Bush and Iraq War 2.0, there are quite a number of contributing factors.
520 bridge 2 years ago they said between 1 and 1.5 billion dollars to build a new bridge. Latest estimate is 3 to 4 billion dollars.
During that time there has been a worldwide building boom, a huge spike in the price of raw materials, and an increase in the price of labor in this state. Inflation is a bitch ain't it.