The following table and chart demonstrates the exponential growth of  the state property tax levy. Prior to 1996, the State Legislature automatically took the maximum allowable increase. The State Levy was  exempted by statute from any public hearings determining the percentage of increase. In 1996, after extensive lobbying by the Washington State Assessor's Association, the State Legislature limited the increase of the state property tax levy. In 1997 the Assessors were back at the legislature urging restraint. Finally with Referendum 47, the limit factor for the State Levy was reduced from an automatic 6% to a 1.15% in 1998 and an .85% (eighty-five one hundredths of one percent) in 1999. This limitation is determined by the calculation of the IPD (acronym for the implicit price deflator for personal consumption expenditures for the United States as published for the most recent twelve month period by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the Federal Department of Commerce in September of the year before the taxes are payable). Had there been no reduction in the automatic increase, the total accumulated difference in collections for the State Levy would have grown by another $1,848,904,586 which is within 11% of what was collected in 1994 and 1995 combined.

  

	Maximum Allowed by Statutes Previous to Referendum 47	Actual Collections	Difference
1994	$982,361,163	$982,361,163	$0
1995	$1,064,800,159	$1,064,800,159	$0
1996	$1,152,061,056	$1,097,772,058	$54,288,998
1997	$1,315,388,697	$1,243,481,223	$71,907,474
1998	$1,343,857,556	$1,238,891,865	$104,965,691
1999	$1,454,172,512	$1,276,080,450	$178,092,062
2000	$1,573,745,692	$1,327,766,651	$245,979,041
2001	$1,703,055,558	$1,396,406,043	$306,649,515
2002	$1,838,257,343	$1,443,459,930	$394,797,413
2003	$1,978,657,399	$1,486,433,008	$492,224,391
Total Difference between actual  collections and what previously could have been levied.			$1,848,904,586