Seattle council commits to developing new head tax proposal

With a resolution passed this week, the Seattle City Council not only committed to a new approach to tax the city’s largest employers, but to also find more revenue than previously proposed.

“We are moving forward,” Councilmember Debora Juarez said. “We can no longer look away at the glaring disparity of our city and having to tax those who have more …”

RELATED: Seattle council rejects proposed head tax 

The council voted down a head tax,  also referred to as an employee hours tax, in a budget hearing last week. The tax would have placed a fee on each employee at the city’s largest companies, such as Amazon. The money would be used for homelessness and housing programs. A resolution unanimously passed Monday commits the council to coming up with another ordinance for an employee hours tax (EHT) by March 2018.

Whereas the first tax was estimated to take in $25 million, the council now wants to raise between $25-75 million. The resolution states the effort will not only seek an employee hours tax, but other progressive taxes as well.

“What we don’t want to do is close the door to a combination of EHT and other progressive revenue sources that could possibly bring us up to that full threshold … of $75 million,” Councilmember Kirsten Harris-Talley said.

The resolution sets up a task force to develop new tax proposals for the council to consider. It will include input from recently-elected Mayor Jenny Durkan. According to the resolution, members will include:

…experts on housing, health care, and homelessness; service providers; civic leaders; labor representatives; individuals who have experienced or are currently experiencing homelessness; business organizations; economic equity experts; community organizations; community coalitions; community leaders; and small and large business owners.

Sawant chides council over tax

Despite the commitment to an employee hours tax, which she supports, Councilmember Kshama Sawant was not pleased with her council colleagues and accused them of doing the “dirty work of big business.” Without naming names, she chided council members and expressed frustration with the previous head tax failing last week.

“I’m not clear on this mystical, magical world that some council members live in where there are endless avenues of progressive taxation … we don’t need the permission of a task force,” Sawant said. “We are elected officials, we have the job and the power to do it. We should be exercising that power in the interest of working people.”

RELATED: Incoming Mayor Durkan hit by tax she opposed

Sawant also expressed doubt that the council will keep its promise to develop a head tax by March arguing many are loyal to big business in Seattle.

“Whom do council members, the majority of the council, the corporate politicians represent?” Sawant said. “They would like you to believe they can represent all of Seattle; rich and poor, workers and big business. That is not reality … When council members accept campaign contributions from the chamber of commerce, that money comes with strings attached … as a Socialist, I always assume that big business gets preferential treatment and special access to elected officials. But even I was surprised in these past few weeks, including just a few minutes ago, in the lengths that council members will go to…”

“There is no way to address Seattle’s housing and homelessness crisis without serious and ongoing public resources and the only way to fund that is to tax big business and the super rich … for big business that is an unacceptable idea,” she said. “… every time big business allows working people in our social movement to win victories, we get emboldened, we get empowered and we go on to the next struggle. They don’t want us to be empowered because they know we won’t stop with the employee hours tax.”

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