CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION supporting the taxation of big businesses in Seattle to fund housing and essential services, urging the Washington State Legislature to oppose any "preemption" or other ban on Seattle's ability to raise revenue through 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, on May 14, 2018, the Seattle City Council passed Council Bill 119250 establishing a tax on Seattle's largest businesses, projected to raise an estimated $48 million per year to fund affordable housing and homeless services; and
WHEREAS, on June 12, 2018, the Seattle City Council passed Council Bill 119280 repealing that tax on Seattle's largest businesses; and
WHEREAS, in January, 2020, McKinsey & Company issued a report, "Why does prosperous King County have a homelessness crisis?", which found that, "Using a conservative set of assumptions, ending the homelessness crisis in King County would therefore cost between $4.5 billion and $11.0 billion over ten years, or between $450.0 million and $1.1 billion each year for the next ten years"; and
WHEREAS, the high cost of housing in Seattle has made renting or owning a home increasingly unaffordable, not only for people with the least income, but also for many working people; and
WHEREAS, in January 2020, the Tax Amazon movement in Seattle organized hundreds of people into a political fight for affordable social housing to be funded through a $300-$500 million per year progressive tax on Seattle's largest businesses; and
WHEREAS, on January 30, 2020, Washington State House Bill 2907, and on February 3, 2020, Washington State Senate Bill 6669, were introduced in the Washington State Legislature, which would authorize King Country to tax businesses to raise no more than an estimated $121 million per year countywide to fund housing and services; and
WHEREAS...
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