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Seattle Poised to Repeal Tax On Amazon and Large Employers

The mayor and seven council members say they’ll seek other ways to fight homelessness.
Bloomberg business news
Seattle Passes $50M Corporate Tax

Under pressure from businesses and homeowners, the Seattle City Council is poised to repeal a tax on large employers like Amazon.com Inc. less than a month after it passed the tax unanimously.

The council said it will hold a vote Tuesday and signaled it would reverse its earlier move. The tax of $275 per employee — called a head tax — was expected to raise almost $50 million a year for homeless services and affordable housing, and the ensuing debate exposed a schism in the city over who’s responsible for the city’s swelling homeless population. Amazon and other major employers in the city had vocally opposed the tax, and the e-commerce giant, which is usually quiet about hometown politics, said it was pausing some development while the council considered the tax.