CITY OF SEATTLE
ORDINANCE __________________
COUNCIL BILL __________________
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AN ORDINANCE relating to taxation; delaying the effective date of the heating oil tax on heating oil service providers under Chapter 5.47 of the Seattle Municipal Code; and delaying the date of the Office of Sustainability and Environment's first annual heating oil tax program status report.
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WHEREAS, on September 23, 2019, the Seattle City Council passed Ordinance 125934 to add a new Chapter 5.47 to the Seattle Municipal Code to impose a tax on heating oil service providers; and
WHEREAS, under Section 16 of Ordinance 125934, the provisions of the ordinance imposing the heating oil tax take effect on September 1, 2020; and
WHEREAS, it is expected that many heating oil service providers will pass on the cost of the heating oil tax to their customers; and
WHEREAS, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization announced that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is officially a global pandemic; and
WHEREAS, on February 29, 2020, the Washington Governor issued Proclamation 20-05, proclaiming a state of emergency for all counties throughout the state of Washington in response to new cases of COVID-19; and
WHEREAS, on March 3, 2020, Mayor Durkan issued a Proclamation of Civil Emergency declaring a civil emergency within the City of Seattle based on the confirmed spread of COVID-19 in King County and the resulting deaths and illness; and
WHEREAS, the COVID-19 crisis and the state of emergency continue and are causing severe harm to the economy; and
WHEREAS, on August 17, 2020, the Council passed Ordinance 126144 to delay the effective date of the heating oil tax from September 1, 2020, to September 1, 2021; and
WHEREAS, imposing the heating oil tax on September 1, 2021, during the continued COVID-19 crisis may cause undue hardship to certain households that purchase heating oil; and
WHEREAS, the Seattle City Council intends therefore to further delay the effective date of the heating ...
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