‘We don’t need more taxes’: Downtown Seattle Association warns Wilson’s revenue push could drive out businesses

Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson used her first State of the City address to outline priorities on homelessness, gun violence, and affordability. She also called on the business community to be a partner in moving the city forward.

Jon Scholes, CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association, appreciated Wilson’s focus on public safety and homelessness but argued the city needs to do more.

“It struck me that she started with two critical issues in our city. The first two issues she’s talked about were public safety and homelessness,” Scholes said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “I appreciate the urgency with which she’s addressing those issues and acknowledging that we’ve made progress, but it’s not good enough; you see too much gun violence in this city.”

“Her message to the business community employers, which she called out specifically, was one that I think resonates with a lot of people,” he continued. “She commended them for the jobs they create, the taxes they pay, and committed to collaboration and partnership. So I think that’s a message that many people will appreciate.”

The No. 1 issue for downtown Seattle

KIRO host Gee Scott asked Scholes if there was one primary issue he would like to address in Seattle, and what he would look to fix first.

“Cities and downtowns have never worked if they weren’t safe; you’ve got to solve for that first,” Scholes responded. “They’ll make choices to go to other places if they don’t feel and believe they’ll be safe. We’ve made a lot of progress on that front. Violent crime in downtown is down, but we still see too many people struggling, and we see too much disorder, a lot of which is driven by significant substance use.”

Scholes also addressed Wilson’s push for “progressive revenue” to close Seattle’s budget gap, after a local business owner warned the city could end up like Detroit and become unlivable for small businesses.

“We don’t need more taxes. We need more businesses paying taxes, and we’re pushing jobs outside of our city right now. We’ve made Seattle sort of an outlier when it comes to the amount of taxes employers are asked and required to pay, and we’ve seen the results of that,” Scholes said. “Bellevue and the east side have grown jobs in the last two years; Seattle has lost jobs. To the mayor’s credit, she said we need to make it easier to open a business in Seattle.”

Watch the full discussion in the video above.

Listen to Gee and Ursula on “The Gee and Ursula Show” weekday mornings from 9 am to 12 pm on KIRO Newsradio.