CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION expressing the City of Seattle's intent to adopt a progressive income tax targeting high-income households
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WHEREAS, Seattle is a growing and prosperous city that can offer great schools, good jobs, and healthy communities for all, and yet our City faces many urgent challenges, including a homelessness state of emergency, an affordable housing crisis, overcrowded classrooms, education equity and racial achievement gaps, inadequate provision of mental health services, and severe traffic congestion; and
WHEREAS, taxes are required to support the basic functions of municipal government, and the tax code is as much an expression of our values as are the public goods and services we choose to fund with the resulting revenue; and
WHEREAS, in Washington State, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), households with incomes below $21,000 paid on average 16.8% of their income in state and local taxes in 2015, whereas households with income in excess of $500,000 paid only 2.4%, making Washington State's tax code the most regressive in the nation; and
WHEREAS, our state and local governments have been unduly and unnecessarily reliant on sales tax, property tax, business and occupation tax, and other regressive taxes; and
WHEREAS, our upside-down tax system deepens poverty, diminishes opportunity for low and middle-income families, disproportionately harms communities of color, hinders efforts toward establishing a more equitable city, and protects and reinforces the privilege of the wealthy; and
WHEREAS, without progressive revenue tools, Seattle is in a weak position to respond to federal budget cuts proposed by the Trump administration, which could eliminate millions of dollars per year from Seattle's budget for housing and human services and hundreds of millions from regional transit projects; and
WHEREAS, Seattle's robust economic growth has created significant wealth and op...
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