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 1.15% in 1998 and to .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 $3,981,931,513, which is 11% more than what was collected in 1995, 1996 and 1997 combined.

	Maximum Allowed by Statutes Previous to Referendum 47	Actual Collections	Difference
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
2004	$2,127,298,823	$1,529,515,601	$597,783,222
2005	$2,291,115,793	$1,584,191,937	$706,923,856
2006	$2,467,562,574	$1,639,242,721	$828,319,853
2007	$2,608,641,557	$1,705,625,185	$903,016,372
Total Difference between actual collections and what previously could have been levied.			$4,830,658,890