New SoDo arena will include new taxes
Jun 7, 2012, 4:34 AM | Updated: 8:51 am
A big part of what we’ve been hearing about the proposed
arena in SoDo is that new taxes won’t be needed to build
or operate it. But that’s not exactly true.
A hard crunching of the numbers by city finance workers
has found the proposed $490 million arena will increase
property taxes in Seattle.
Seattle property owners would have to pay an extra $2 or
$3 a year in new taxes if this deal goes through.
“So it’s not true that this is not costing the taxpayers
of the city anything?” City Councilmember Tim Burgess
asked those finance workers during a committee hearing on
Wednesday.
When the arena goes from being taxed as a private building
to tax-exempt as a public building, the overall tax base
goes down, and that will have to be made up by other
taxpayers.
Hedge fund manager Chris Hansen, who is pushing for the
new arena and pursuing a new NBA team, will appear before
the city council on June 20 to answer questions as to
whether this deal really comes with no new taxes.
