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Locke's plan to mend tax puts twist in election
Locke's plan to mend tax puts twist in election
Saturday, October 16, 1999
By ROBERT GAVIN
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
CAPITOL CORRESPONDENT
OLYMPIA -- After months of quietly campaigning against Initiative 695, Gov.
Gary Locke has stepped forward with a proposal that could have ramifications
in next month's election and in November 2000.
Over the past week -- first in Spokane, and then in Aberdeen -- Locke vowed
to put forward a plan to reform and cut the motor vehicle excise tax if voters
reject I-695, the measure that would eliminate the tax altogether.
Locke yesterday offered no specifics on the plan, including how big a tax
cut he would seek. David Chai, a Locke spokesman, said the governor supported
both a lower rate and a fairer method of determining a vehicle's value to reduce
license tab taxes.
But Chai said Locke would not detail a proposal -- including the size of the
tax cut -- until after the election.
I-695 supporters quickly condemned Locke's move as a desperate attempt to
undermine support for the initiative, which recent polls show heading for approval.
Tim Eyman, the I-695 sponsor, called the governor's proposal a "Hail Mary"
pass.
"How do you put a snicker in a quote?" Eyman asked. "For 62 years, they had
the option to come up with a more reasonable license fee system, and they never
did. We're in the 11th hour, and they're showing they'll say and do anything."
But I-695 opponents said Locke is giving voters a reasonable alternative to
a radical tax proposal.
"We'll work with him," said Mark Funk, spokesman for the No on Initiative
695 Committee. "Nobody in this campaign has been defending the MVET. But we
believe the license tab issue needs to be reformed by the Legislature because
we can avoid the other problems of I-695."
Chai, the Locke spokesman, said the governor, too, is concerned about the
"meat ax" approach of I-695.
"The governor believes there's a right way to fix the motor vehicle excise
tax and a wrong way," Chai said. "And we should do it the right way."
What effect Locke's pledge will have on the Nov. 2 election remains unclear.
Opponents said it might sway some voters who dislike the motor vehicle excise
tax but fear the effect of its sudden demise on transportation, local government
and public services.
I-695 would cost the state about $1.5 billion in the first two years, according
to the Office of Financial Management.
I-695 supporters, however, said voters will dismiss the governor's move as
a political ploy. Republicans said the maneuver only underscores Locke's failure
to provide tax relief during his first term and vowed to make it an issue in
next year's gubernatorial election.
The state Republican Party recently endorsed I-695.
"It's not leadership, it's governing by polling," said Dale Foreman, the state
GOP chairman and a possible Locke opponent. "It's a deceptive tactic. He's basically
saying to the voters, 'Trust me,' . . . and the voters are sick and tired of
it."
State Sen. Dino Rossi of Issaquah, ranking Republican on the Senate Ways and
Means Committee, said I-695 is the price Locke and Democrats have to pay for
refusing to consider tax cuts in the last session.
"What we have now is really the result of the unwillingness to recognize that
people feel overtaxed," Rossi said. "It takes a 2-by-4 on the side of the head
for them to understand that the people of Washington feel overtaxed."
But Blair Butterworth, a political adviser to Locke, dismissed the Republican
attacks as "hot air to otherwise spoil a beautiful fall day."
Chai said Locke has long believed the motor vehicle excise tax was unfair
and proposed cutting it in 1998.
But last year's approval of Referendum 49, which designates the MVET as the
revenue to pay for the massive transportation program, unraveled those plans.
Chai explained the timing of Locke's proposal as "the governor being a governor."
"He's hearing the concerns of the people of Washington, and acting on them,"
Chai said.
Democratic lawmakers, said they, too, would support overhauling the motor
vehicle excise tax should I-695 fail.
Senate Majority Leader Sid Snyder, D-Long Beach, said it would be a high priority
when the Legislature reconvenes in January, but what shape it might take is
unclear.
"All kinds of things are being talked about," Snyder said, "but there's nothing
at all definite. It's a question of how much we can afford and how we go about
it."
P-I reporter Robert Gavin can be reached at 360-943-8311 or robertgavin@seattle-pi.com
