Seattle's proposed Amazon tax to include COVID-19 relief

Seattle's proposed Amazon tax to include COVID-19 relief
Tuesday, April 7th 2020
KOMO news
https://komonews.com/news/local/seattle-city-council-to-consider-business-tax-proposal

The Seattle City Council's budget committee will consider a plan to impose a tax on some of the city's biggest corporate citizens after council members voted unanimously on Monday to move the measure forward.

Supporters of the Seattle tax on big business are now incorporating the COVID-19 pandemic into their strategy to get it approved.

Every member of the City Council sits on the Select Committee on Budget and the debated is expected to be heated.

The move is a new wrinkle in a two-pronged approach to pass a tax similar to the failed tax of two years ago.

But there’s a new urgency say the bills’ co-sponsors: COVID-19 relief.

“We are staring down the barrel of an unprecedented unemployment crisis that will leave many Seattle families with no income, no food and no ability to pay for food,” said Councilwoman Tammy Morales, who co-sponsored the bill during the council's weekly virtual meeting.

It would be a new 1.3 percent corporate payroll tax on businesses that earn more than $7 million in annual payroll and generate approximately $500 million annually. The legislation would exempt non-profits organizations, grocery stores, small and medium sized businesses and government employers.

The tax would begin June 1, but businesses wouldn’t have to remit the taxes owed for 2020 and 2021 until February 2022.

But during an online townhall prior to Monday’s meeting, Council Member Kshama Sawant says checks for COVID-19 relief could be in the mail by May if the council takes immediate action.

“We are only taxing the largest and most profitable corporations that are making money even during this pandemic, so that we are able to immediately fund $200 million dollars of COVID-19 relief,” Sawant said.

Under the Sawant/Morales plan, $200 million of the tax would be set aside to payback an Interfund Loan that would be used to fund emergency cash assistance for up to 100,000 low income households that have lost income as a result of the crisis.

Households would receive up to four checks in the amount of $500 over a period of four months.

The remaining $300 million will go to what the tax was originally intended, which includes 75 percent of the funds allocated to for investments to build up to 10,800 of new social housing and the remaining 25 percent would go toward housing related strategies outlined in Seattle’s “New Green Deal,” which was approved by the council last year.

During Monday’s meeting, Council Member Debora Juarez called it bad timing.

“This type of politics in the midst of a lethal pandemic to me is unacceptable and a waste of time,” Juarez said. “I don't think this is the time to promote any type of political movement.”

Anti-tax man Tim Eyman should up at Seattle City Hall to rail against the tax, and was upset that he couldn’t address the council director because of the governor’s emergency changes for open public meetings.

“I’m extremely concerned we are shutting down open government” Eyman said before he chastised the proposed tax. “It’s only making a bad situation dramatically worse.”
He had hoped more people would meet him at City Hall but only three others showed up.

The City Council moved to virtual meetings that don’t allow for public testimony a month ago.

Over the weekend, Tax Amazon supporters, including Sawant, launched an online signature drive to get a citywide initiative on the November ballot. The initiative would mirror the legislation before the council without the COVID-19 provisions and is thought of as a backstop if the council doesn’t approve the tax.

But collecting signatures online is raising questions about whether that is allowed.

The King County’s election office told us it’s their understanding that paper petitions are the only kind accepted by the Secretary of State’s office so signatures can be compared to those on voter rolls.

The Secretary of State’s office told us to check with the Charter of the City of Seattle to see if online signature gathering is allowed. We have been unable to verify if this is the case.

Supporters of the tax said on their Facebook page they would like to see authorities accept the online signatures.