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I-695: Truckers would still pay a hefty fee
I-695: Truckers would still pay a hefty fee
Do you have questions about I-695? Ask us and we'll try to answer them in
our coverage of the statewide ballot measure between now and Election Day Nov.
2.
I-695 would abolish the state Motor Vehicle Excise Tax and replace it with
a flat $30-per-vehicle fee. It would also require a public vote on future tax
and fee increases by state and local government.
Q: The vehicles most responsible for tearing up the roads and highways are
the large semi-trucks, the 18-wheelers and trucks like that. How would their
fees and taxes be affected by passage of I-695? Would they get by on $30-a-year
license tabs, too?
- Jerry Ludden, Sumner, and Joe Baker, Tacoma
A: No. If I-695 passes, truck owners would have to pay more than the $30-a-year
flat fee.
All trucks registered in Washington pay a "combined license fee" based on
the gross weight of the vehicle and what they are capable of hauling. That ranges
from $37 a year for a truck that weighs 4,000 pounds or less to $2,973 for a
truck that weighs 105,500 pounds.
In addition, truck owners also must pay motor vehicle excise taxes. The tax
rate for trucks is 2.78 percent of the vehicle's value - higher than the 2.2
percent rate paid on cars.
Currently, the owner of a brand-new 105,500-pound truck that cost $100,000
would pay $5,753 in excise tax and combined license fees if the vehicle were
driven exclusively on Washington highways.
If the truck travels interstate, Washington would have to share a portion
of those fees and taxes with the other states in which the truck is driven.
If I-695 passes, the $2,780 excise tax would go away, but the $2,973 combined
license fee would remain, according to the state Department of Transportation.
There were nearly 1.3 million trucks registered in Washington in 1998, from
small pickups to tractor-trailer rigs.
Q: If I-695 passes and sets a $30 fee per vehicle, is that all I have to pay?
I heard that cities and counties can add their own tax on top of that. Is that
true?
- Carl Anderson, Tacoma
A: It depends on where you live.
You will pay more than $30 if you live in Pierce, King and Snohomish counties,
and perhaps in Grant County in Eastern Washington.
In most parts of those three Puget Sound counties, vehicle owners already
pay a 0.3 percent vehicle excise tax to the Regional Transit Authority. That
tax would stay on the books, but the RTA would have to come up with its own
system for setting values on vehicles to collect the money because the state
valuation system would be repealed by I-695.
In addition, Pierce, King, Snohomish and Grant counties already collect a
local license-tab fee of $15 per year on vehicles for which the state collects
an annual registration fee.
I-695 would not repeal the law that gives cities and counties the authority
to collect that local tax. But some government lawyers say the local fee might
go away, too, because the law says cities and counties can collect the $15 fee
only on vehicles for which the state collects a registration fee.
I-695 repeals the section of law that describes how the minimum fees are to
be collected.
On the other hand, I-695 would replace that repealed section with a new law
that says the state can collect a $30 annual registration fee on vehicles. So,
it would appear local governments still could collect their $15 fee.
Here's an example of how I-695 would affect a Pierce, King or Snohomish county
resident who has a vehicle that would be valued at $10,000 next year:
Under the current tax system, the owner would pay a license-tab renewal fee
of $23.75, plus another $2.60 in fees that go to the state Pollution Control
Account, to the Department of Licensing and to the Legislative Transportation
Committee.
The total minimum state fees now are $26.35 a year, plus a $3 filing fee that
goes to the county in which the vehicles are registered.
The state portion of the excise tax would be $220, the RTA portion of the
excise tax would be $30 and the county fee is $15 a year. The grand total of
fees and taxes for that $10,000 vehicle now are $294.35.
If I-695 passes, the state renewal fees of $26.35 and excise tax of $220 would
go away and be replaced by the $30-a-year fee. The $15 county fee probably would
stay, the $3 filing fee would stay and so would the RTA $30 tax. So the new
grand total would be $78.
In Thurston, Kitsap, Mason, Lewis and the remaining 35 counties, the new fee
would be $30 a year, plus the $3 filing fee.
- - -
Send your questions to state government and transportation reporter Joseph
Turner at 253-597-8436, joe.turner@mail.tribnet.com or The News Tribune,
PO Box 11000, Tacoma 98411. Please be sure to include your name (spell it, please)
and telephone number so that we can reach you if necessary.
10/08/1999
