The state has finally realized the Sound Transit car tab taxes are over-priced, something the majority of the Puget Sound car drivers have known since the exorbitant taxes were applied to vehicle car tabs back in 2017.

The Vehicle Registration Payment Options Workgroup (VRPOW), was setup by the legislature to study payment options for the overpriced Sound Transit car tab taxes that many drivers can’t afford. The group was tasked presenting its findings to the legislature and recently published its recommendation.

Voters passed the Sound Transit ballot measure, ST3, in November 2016. Subsequently, lawsuits were filed, and a voters initiative passed (I-976), repealing the high car tab taxes and challenging the car valuation formula Sound Transit used for the tax measure. The repeal by initiative was eventually ruled invalid by the Washington Supreme Court and never took effect. Most car owners in the Puget Sound area saw triple digit increases in car tab taxes.

The VRPOW report highlights the potential lost tax revenue to the state of creating a payment plan for the 2023-2025 budget at $26.6 million, money that would need to be recovered through additional taxes or fees. A 2021 Ford F150 was used as an illustration of the high car tabs taxes, which in Tacoma costs $615.88 and in Grant County, $108.25, over a $500 difference.

Median taxes for vehicles inside the Regional Transit Area (RTA) are almost 3 times higher than those taxes outside the area.

77% of the respondents involved in the study wanted to continue to pay annually and there was only a small amount of support for a payment plan with an additional fee to cover the cost of administration.

The report is recommending the legislature not pursue a payment plan and acknowledges, that despite this recommendation, car tabs are still unaffordable for drivers.

To make things worse there is now an effort to increase Sound Transit taxes still further.

Rather than fixing Sound Transits cost overruns and overpriced car tabs, the public push for another Sound Transit measure (ST4) to increase taxes on drivers is gaining momentum.

Sound Transit, other than going to the voters for tax increases, is not directly accountable to the voters of Washington. Its board made up of appointed officials, the majority of which are from King County who control the majority of the spending decisions. Once a tax increase ballot measure is passed, there is no accountability for how the money is spent.

The control of Sound Transit needs to be back under legislative control to create accountability and project oversight for the agency. The current, separate transportation and Sound Transit budgets muddy the true picture of the amount of money the state is paying for transit services vs general use transportation infrastructure.

Rather than offering payment plans for the expensive car tab taxes, the legislature should be looking for ways to provide the voter approved transit services for much less cost and return control back to the peoples elected representatives.