Oak Harbor residents are paying nearly 3 percent more in property taxes this year due to a tax break given military housing providers by the 2008 Legislature.

Senate Bill 6389 exempted private builders of military housing from paying property taxes, as long as that housing is built on military-owned property. This move saved developers over $900,000 in property taxes statewide. Locally, the exemption for Navy housing meant the burden of paying those taxes was shifted to other property owners, thereby jacking up taxes by approximately 3 percent, according to estimates by the Island County Assessor’s Office.

The bill was anything but controversial. It passed 49 to 0 in the Senate and 91 to 1 in the House. The 10th District’s entire delegation, including Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen and Reps. Barbara Bailey and Norma Smith, voted for it. The only opponent in the entire Legislature was a Democratic representative from south Seattle, Bob Hasegawa.

The vote was seen as a way to show support for our military personnel and to conform to what other states had done in supporting their military communities. Leaders did not want other states to look more military-friendly than Washington, not when competition for military installations is so fierce.

But the decision did increase taxes for private property owners. The Island County Assessor’s Office had worked for several years previously to allow taxation of private military housing, only to see those efforts thrown out with SB 6389.

The central point of the issue is that, as always, one person’s tax break is another person’s tax increase. Governments continually provide tax breaks to special interest groups, be they military, business or lower-income folks, which by their very nature force others to pay higher taxes. On the federal level, millions of Americans don’t pay any income taxes at all. That’s offensive, as it’s a privilege to live in America and everyone should pay taxes to support their country, regardless of income.

In these dire economic times, governments at every level should re-examine all the tax breaks given to special interest groups. In Island County, there are varied property tax breaks seen as incentives for farming and forestry which may no longer be applicable. They at least deserve a serious look.

Tax hikes will probably be needed to help state and local governments survive the economic crisis. But first, voters should be assured that the system is fair to everyone.