I had the privilege to testify before the Senate Transportation Committee today on Senate Bill 5042, which would provide necessary and long-overdue relief to those families who have been subject to an unfair valuation method on their vehicles, imposed by Sound Transit.

As I shared with the committee, we particularly like that the bill applies a retroactive credit for overcharges people have paid since 2017. A retroactive credit should be a part of any car tab bill that seeks to bring relief to taxpayers.

Given that part of the credit calculation used in this program includes a reduced 0.5 percent car tab tax (rather than the 0.8 percent passed in Sound Transit 3), the bill effectively gives taxpayers the greater reprieve they have asked for.

It is clear that Sound Transit can afford this fix. In the last year, Sound Transit has had numerous unexpected expenses and yet has always been able to absorb the cost.

People have asked their local elected representatives for relief since Sound Transit refuses to provide it. Senate Bill 5042 is most responsive to this public outcry. Bringing tax relief to families who continue to be overcharged hundreds of dollars in unfair taxes, while inconvenient for Sound Transit, is the right and honest thing to do.

Video of our testimony can be viewed here.