Phil Fortunato on Tax Reform

	Phil Fortunato on Tax Reform

Constitutional Amendment to keep taxes low & steady

BE IT RESOLVED, THAT, at the next general election, the qualified voters of the state [shall vote] for their approval and ratification, or rejection, an amendment to Article VII, section 1 of the Constitution of the state of Washington, to read as follows: "The power of taxation shall never be suspended, surrendered or contracted away. All taxes shall be uniform upon the same class of property within the territorial limits of the authority levying the tax and shall be levied and collected for public purposes only." [Co-sponsored by Sen. Fortunato plus 13 Republican Senators]

News-Tribune supporting Op-Ed, by Sen. Steve O'Ban, 2/23/20: For property owners, the past few years have felt like a rollercoaster ride. There was a decrease in property taxes in 2019, only to have them substantially rise in 2020. The Democrats voted to raise the local school-levy lid to $2.50 per $1,000 assessed value, up from the rate of $1.50 per $1,000 that had so recently provided tax relief.

Source: Billtrack50.com on Washington voting record SJR8219 , Mar 6, 2020

Restructure property tax as relief for homeowners

Fortunato [is] pushing to amend the state's constitution to restructure Washington's property tax aimed at relief for homeowners. Senate Joint Resolution 8219 would freeze property valuations as of Jan. 1, 2020, and not be recalculated until there is a change of ownership. "We should enshrine this principle of fiscal restraint in our state's constitution." Source: Auburn Reporter on 2020 Washington gubernatorial race , Mar 5, 2020

Fund transportation needs with inflation-linked sales tax

Our state's transportation system is in trouble and it keeps getting worse. I am proposing that we use an inflation-linked funding source with the taxes you already send to Olympia. By using the existing sales tax on motor vehicles, we can fully fund our state's transportation needs. As cars become more fuel efficient, people take more transit, or more electric vehicles hit the roads, the gas tax won't be sufficient. It's a declining revenue source. Source: 2020 Washington governor campaign website PhilForGov.org , Jan 6, 2020

Introduced bill to exempt older seniors from property tax

Seniors are being taxed out of their homes and they have worked hard for the homes they own. At some point in time seniors have paid enough taxes. That is why I introduced legislation (SB 5535) that would exempt older senior citizens from property tax. My goal here is to allow seniors to stay in their homes as long as possible. Seniors should not have to choose between paying property taxes or meeting their basic needs. Source: 2020 Washington governor campaign website VoteFortunato.org , Jun 28, 2017

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*Other governors on Tax Reform:*			*Phil Fortunato on other issues:*
*WA Gubernatorial:* Bill Bryant Jay Inslee Loren Culp *WA Senatorial:* Chris Vance Dave Strider Jennifer Ferguson Maria Cantwell Mike Luke Patty Murray Susan Hutchison	*Gubernatorial Debates 2021:* NJ: Murphy(D) vs.Ciattarelli(R) VA: Northam(D,term-limited) vs.Herring(D) vs.Chase(R) vs.Fairfax(D) *Gubernatorial Debates 2019:* KY: Bevin(R) vs.~~Goforth~~(R,lost primary) vs.~~Adkins~~(D,lost primary) vs.Beshear(D) vs.~~Edelen~~(D,lost primary) LA: Edwards(D) vs.Rispone(R) vs.Abraham(R) vs.~~Kennedy~~(R,declined) MS: ~~Bryant~~(R,retiring) vs.Foster(R) vs.Hood(D) vs.Reeves(R) vs.Waller(R)	*Gubernatorial Debates 2020:* DE: Carney(incumbent) vs.~~Williams~~(D) vs.Murray(R) vs.Bonini(C) IN: Holcomb(incumbent) vs.Melton(D) vs.Myers(D) MO: Parson(incumbent) vs.Galloway(D) vs.Neely(R) MT: Bullock(retiring) vs.Fox(R) vs.Perry(R) vs.Gianforte(R) vs.~~Stapleton~~(R) vs.Olszewski(R) vs.Neill(D) vs.Schreiner(D) vs.Cooney(D) vs.Williams(D) NC: Cooper(incumbent) vs.Forest(R) vs.Grange(R) vs.Pisano(C) ND: Burgum(incumbent) vs.Coachman(R) vs.Lenz(D) NH: Sununu(incumbent) vs.Volinsky(D) vs. fsFeltes(D) PR: Rossello(D) vs.Garced(D) vs.Pierluisi(D) UT: Herbert(retiring) vs.Huntsman(R) vs.Cox(R) vs.Burningham(R) vs.Newton(D) vs.Hughes(R) vs.Peterson(D) VT: Scott(incumbent) vs.Holcombe(D) vs.Zuckerman(D) WA: Inslee(incumbent) vs.Bryant(R) vs.Fortunato(R) vs.Culp(R) WV: Justice(incumbent) vs.Folk(R) vs.Thrasher(R) vs.Vanover(D) vs.Smith(D) vs.Ron Stollings(D) vs.Salango(D)	Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families/Children Foreign Policy Free Trade Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Infrastructure/Technology Jobs Local Issues Principles/Values Social Security Tax Reform War/Iraq/Mideast Welfare/Poverty

Page last updated: Dec 16, 2020