Editing Sound Transit (section)

===Funding===

Sound Transit's budget is primarily funded through local taxes levied within the regional transit district in the urbanized portions of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. These taxes, which comprise 63{{nbsp}}percent of the total 2017–2046 budget, are composed of a 1.4{{nbsp}}percent [[sales tax]], a 0.8{{nbsp}}percent [[motor vehicle excise tax]], a 0.8{{nbsp}}percent [[rental car]] tax, and a [[property tax]] of up to 25{{nbsp}}cents per $1,000 in assessed value.<ref name="Budget2024">{{cite web |date=December 2023 |title=2024 Financial Plan & Adopted Budget |pages=2–9, 19–20, 59 |url=https://www.soundtransit.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024-financial-plan-adopted-budget.pdf |publisher=Sound Transit |accessdate=August 16, 2024}}</ref> The property tax rate is variable and can increase at a rate of up to 1{{nbsp}}percent annually with approval from the agency's board of directors.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lindblom |first=Mike |date=January 6, 2025 |title=There's a small property tax boost for Sound Transit in 2025 |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/theres-a-small-property-tax-boost-for-sound-transit-in-2025/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=January 6, 2025}}</ref> The remaining 37{{nbsp}}percent includes grants and bonds from the federal government, loans, interests, and passenger fares.<ref name="Budget2024"/> In 2023, Sound Transit accounted for 57.7{{nbsp}}percent of all local tax revenue collected by transit agencies in Washington state.<ref name="WSDOT-Summary2023"/> That year, the agency earned $51.9{{nbsp}}million from passenger fares—of which 62 percent was from Link light rail. The [[farebox recovery ratio]] for Link was 16{{nbsp}}percent in 2023, followed by 10{{nbsp}}percent for Sound Transit Express and 8{{nbsp}}percent for Sounder.<ref name="FareReport"/>

The agency has had three major [[referendum|ballot measure]]s that were approved by voters to fund system expansion: [[Sound Move]] (1996), [[Sound Transit 2]] (2008), and [[Sound Transit 3]] (2016). Planning and construction of new transit projects is anticipated to continue until 2046 under the Sound Transit 3 plan and are forecast to cost $148{{nbsp}}billion in year-of-expenditure dollars.<ref name="Times-Megaproject2024"/> Under a provision of the [[Constitution of Washington|state constitution]], Sound Transit is limited to issuing debt that does not exceed 1.5{{nbsp}}percent of the assessed land value within the district;<ref name="Times-Shortfall"/><ref>{{cite web |date=October 2024 |title=2024 Annual Program Review Report |pages=8–10 |url=https://www.soundtransit.org/sites/default/files/documents/BAPR-annual-program-review-2024.pdf |publisher=Sound Transit |accessdate=December 27, 2024}}</ref> the final [[bond (finance)|bond]] payments under the program are scheduled for 2068.<ref>{{cite news |last=Lindblom |first=Mike |date=October 1, 2016 |title=Sound Transit 3 taxes: How much you'd pay and for how long |url=https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/transportation/breaking-down-the-54-billion-sound-transit-3-initiative/ |work=The Seattle Times |accessdate=December 24, 2024}}</ref> Approximately 51{{nbsp}}percent of the long-range budget is allocated towards capital construction, while operations and maintenance comprise up 27{{nbsp}}percent.<ref name="Budget2024"/> The 2024 budget has $3.1{{nbsp}}billion in expenses and $2.9{{nbsp}}billion in expected revenue; it includes $638{{nbsp}}million for operations and $2.2{{nbsp}}billion for capital projects.<ref name="Budget2024"/>