SEATTLE — A proposed tax bill in Olympia targets big businesses in King County.
Critics call it the Seattle 'head tax' with a new name. But Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and King County Executive Dow Constantine support the proposal, saying it would be a way to tackle the region's affordable housing and homelessness crisis.
Executive Constantine denies the proposal as a head tax.
"It is very different, because it is regionwide. The Seattle head tax only covered the city of Seattle, but homelessness and the housing crisis cross the entire county and in fact, beyond its borders," said Constantine.
King County Council Vice Chair Reagan Dunn said the proposal is "Seattle's failed head tax with a new coat of paint" and that the tax "disincentivizes higher wages for the entire county."
Representative Nicole Macri is a sponsor of the bill.
"It is an excise tax on business based on total payroll related to employees who earn over $150,000 a year," said Macri.
It could impact companies like Amazon, Starbucks, and Expedia.
The Expedia Group is supportive of the proposed tax.
Chief Legal Officer Bob Dzielak released the following statement:
Addressing our region’s homelessness and affordable housing crises at the county level reflects the needs and values of all of our employees in the Seattle region. Thousands of Expedia Group employees live throughout the Greater Seattle area and, like the broader public, are looking to government and business leaders to take new, comprehensive steps to address homelessness and housing issues in the communities and neighborhoods we call home. Our roots are firmly planted in the Greater Seattle area and we are proud to contribute toward the revenue needed to address these issues in the form of a new tax that can make a meaningful impact, creates accountability to drive progress, and quickly gets the needed funding in the hands of our local policy makers in and beyond Seattle as swiftly and responsibly as possible.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan said, "I think the thing that is really important here is right now this is the only proposal pending in a legislative body, and raises approximately $100 million that we could start to spend next year to address this crisis."
"I think the only way the bill is going to get out of Olympia is if business, labor advocates, all agree on the terms, and I think the elements of that are already in the works," Constantine said.
Marilyn Strickland, CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce said in a statement that they will evaluate the proposal through their member-led process.
“Our members will evaluate it rationally, determine whether it would be smart public policy that can achieve its desired outcomes, and assess how it would affect our broad, diverse business community,” said Strickland.
The proposal is scheduled to be the focus of a public hearing on Tuesday morning in the House Committee on Finance.
