Great story about our initiative limiting property tax increases to 1% per year

Great story about our initiative (still in effect) limiting property tax increases to 1% per year. Opponents tried to use the 9/11 attack against us. It was beyond outrageous.

For decades prior to the year 2001, state government had the authority to raise property taxes up to 6% per year.

And they always did.

Counties raised them 6% per year.

Cities raised them 6% per year.

Port districts, park districts, fire districts, library districts — all were raising property taxes 6% per year.

In 2001, we sponsored Initiative 747.

It lowered that 6% per year to 1% per year for every government in Washington — state and local. The only way they could go higher was with voter approval.

Check out how dirty the opponents were:

“Try to stop or at least slow down their ability to gain signatures.”

That’s totally illegal.

Fortunately our heroic volunteer petitioners withstood their ungodly attacks and collected enough signatures to qualify for the November 2001 ballot.

For the next couple of months, the campaign was going forward like any other.

Then on September 11th, two planes plunged into the twin towers in New York.

Opponents wasted no time exploiting it:

They were shameless:

Every reporter, columnist, and newspaper editorial board member was screaming VOTE NO!!

Opponents spent millions of dollars trying to scare voters.

We worked out butts off countering all that.

In the end, our initiative got over 58% of the vote!!

It’s still in effect today — 20 years later.

And it has saved taxpayers over $17 billion so far:

And it has become the new normal.

Many governments now brag about how they “didn’t take the 1%.”

And governments that want more MUST ASK OUR PERMISSION FIRST!!

Without our qualification and passage of Initiative 747 and without our yearly legislative battles in Olympia to protect it, property taxes would be EXPONENTIALLY higher.

It’s an amazing accomplishment — and we did together.

The appeal of the AG’s ridiculously unconstitutional rulings won’t happen unless we do it together.

My notice of appeal must be filed no later than TOMORROW (Thurs, July 15th) or else these rulings will stand FOREVER.

This insanity MUST BE appealed … but I need your help to do it.

My $35K payment to Richard’s law firm last week drained me dry.

Please … and I really mean this … please help me fight back against this gross injustice and abuse of power by donating to my legal defense fund TODAY:

Please donate to my legal defense fund TODAY so I can appeal these insane rulings — mail check to: Tim Eyman Legal Defense Fund, 500 106th Ave NE #709, Bellevue, WA, 98004. Or donate online here. — thanks very much.

This is a legal and political precedent that cannot be allowed to stand.

Please … I implore you … donate today.

As you know, we worked really hard on Initiative 976 — here’s when we turned in 350,000 voter signatures to qualify it for the ballot:

And here’s election night:

Karen and I sacrificed a lot — we sold off our retirement fund to kick-start its signature drive:

And now, a message from Sid Maietto and Larry Jensen:

We’re asking folks to donate to our PAC so Tim can get paid back (and live and survive) and to help stop Inslee’s Income Tax and Carbon Tax Schemes with the initiatives we’re co-sponsoring with Tim.