I recently received Sen. Phil Fortunato’s newsletter. I was struck by a disingenuous statement on the first page, “Stop Sound Transit’s car tab ripoff: They are knowingly inflating the value of our vehicles when they calculate our taxes so they can charge us more.”

The Regional Transit Authority uses a depreciation schedule based upon the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. This schedule was mandated by the Legislature in 1990. The Regional Transit Authority was not created until 1993. Most, if not all, bonds issued by the RTA specify that this depreciation schedule must be used.

If a different depreciation schedule is desired, the Legislature would have to approve a bill requiring such a schedule, but it is quite possible that the bondholders would have to agree to such a change.

The statement, “They are knowingly inflating the value,” is specious at best. To be polite, I will not assign the “L-word” to the statement, but perhaps it can be labeled an “alternative fact”.

– R. Wesley Aman