To the editor:
In his column "Coming to a Neighborhood near you: the great price-out," (Capitol Hill Times, Aug. 22), Jafar Siddiqui expresses three things that I take issue with.
First, he claims that "property tax relief for fixed income people...does not come close to helping them." However, King County has a very generous program for lower income seniors and disabled people. For those with incomes up to $35,000, the deduction is up to 50 percent of the total property tax bill, a significant savings which does indeed help them a lot, and allows many to stay in their homes instead of having to move elsewhere.
Second, Mr. Siddiqui suggests that property tax levels be frozen at the original purchase price or time of re-financing. This would mean a huge budget deficit for entities which depend on this tax, such as state and local governments, schools, emergency medical services, etc., and is a totally unrealistic proposal. Exactly how would this deficit be made up?
Finally, to hint that present tax policy is a form of "ethnic cleansing" is really over the top. Those who are feeling pinched with rising property taxes deserve our concern and government's assistance, both of which are already in place. Mr. Siddiqui needs to get his facts straight, and make his proposals more realistic, if he wants to make a credible contribution to this issue.
Sometimes it is very valid to bash the government, but in this case they don't deserve the criticism. Sometimes, they actually get it right.
Bob Knudson
Capitol Hill
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