On April 15, the Seattle City Council announced its schedule for upcoming hearings on the 1.3% payroll tax proposed by Councilmembers Kshama Sawant and Tammy Morales. The schedule is:

  • Committee Meeting April 22, 10:00 a.m.: Council will receive a preliminary economic forecast update provided by the City Budget Office, and an outline of the legislation’s three bills (CB 119772, CB 119773, CB 119774) from Council Central Staff.
  • Committee Meeting April 29, 10:00 a.m.: Council will receive an outline of any legislation not covered in the previous meeting; Council Central Staff will answer Councilmember questions.
  • Committee Meeting May 13, 10:00 a.m.: Council will consider any amendments, possible committee vote.

During this time, it is critical that Councilmembers continue to hear from a broad cross-section of our business community.

Thank you to every Chamber member and partner who has written to the Council so far. Your stories make a difference in demonstrating that the tax would have widespread negative effects, particularly during an economic crisis.

If you have not had a chance yet, here are three things we encourage you to do this week:

  1. If you are authorized to speak on behalf of your organization, please sign this letter calling on the Council to reject this tax on jobs and to focus on economic recovery.
  2. Send in your own comments to council@seattle.gov.
  3. Sign the Change.org petition from No Tax on Job’s Recovery Now.

Points to keep in mind:

  • We are looking at an economic recovery that will take months, if not years. Adding a tax on jobs sends the wrong message about Seattle’s commitment to restoring jobs and stabilizing our economy.
  • This crisis goes well beyond Seattle’s borders, and it should not be addressed by the city alone. Our top priority should be working together as a state and region to get the federal resources we need for both relief and recovery.
  • This is a time for leadership and unity to rally Seattle to recovery not the time to reopen a divisive fight with a tax ten times larger than the failed head tax