CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION affirming support for progressive big business taxes to fund essential community needs; urging the Washington State Legislature to enact statewide taxes on big business and the rich without any "preemption" or other ban, limitation, or phasing out of Seattle's ability to raise revenue through local big business taxes or other progressive revenue sources, and requesting the Office of Intergovernmental Relations communicate this resolution to Washington State Lawmakers.
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WHEREAS, Washington State has the most regressive tax system in the United States, with the poorest 20 percent of families paying 17.8 percent of their income in state and local taxes compared to the richest one percent paying only three percent of their income in state and local taxes, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy report "Who Pays"; and
WHEREAS, on July 6, 2020, the Seattle City Council passed Ordinance 126108, establishing a progressive tax on Seattle's largest businesses, which is estimated to generate $214 million in revenue in 2021; and
WHEREAS, as of December 2020, Washington State projected a budget shortfall of approximately $3.3 billion through 2023; and
WHEREAS, on January 19, 2021, the Office of Intergovernmental Relations presented at the Council Briefing Meeting about "State Legislative Session Updates," and reported that Washington State legislators were discussing Senate Bill 5096, establishing a progressive tax on the capital gains of large stock market investments, and were informally discussing legislation relating to progressive taxes on the payroll of big businesses in Washington State; and
WHEREAS, on January 4, 2021, Crosscut reported that State legislators were concerned that a Statewide progressive big business tax would be a "double tax" on big business in Seattle, quoting legislators saying, "It remains an open question ... What happens with Seattle?" and "Likely, we'd have ...
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