Today the Washington State Supreme Court agreed to hear a direct appeal of the legal challenge to Initiative 976, the $30 car-tabs bill, and place it on an expedited schedule.
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Grim news on the city budget as revenue projections fall short
This afternoon Mayor Durkan and City Budget Director Ben Noble briefed the press on the city’s new projections for how the COVID-19 shutdown is affecting city revenues. This comes on the eve of a presentation to the City Council tomorrow morning on the same information as the Council begins considering a new $500 million payroll tax. Under their most likely scenario, revenues will fall around $210 million below budget. But in a more pessimistic outcome, the shortfall could increase to almost $300 million. Let’s dive into the details.
Continue readingCouncil takes up payroll tax this week; here’s what to expect
On Wednesday, the Seattle City Council will begin its deliberations on the proposed “Amazon Tax” on payroll proposed by Council members Sawant and Morales. But there are many issues on the table that will need to be hashed out before a bill is adopted.
Continue readingThis week in Council Chambers
Deliberations on the new payroll tax begin.
Continue readingCity-commissioned UW research report finds that the soda tax isn’t working
When the City Council passed its sweetened-beverage tax in 2017, it commissioned an ongoing study on the impact of that tax in reducing consumption of sugared beverages. Two months ago I reported that the UW team that landed the contract to do the study had yet to deliver a report on 2018 data. But today, the City auditor finally released that report. Its main finding: the soda tax had no effect on the amount of sweetened beverages consumed by low-income children and their parents.
Continue readingSchedule announced for “Amazon Tax” hearings
This morning, Council Budget Chair Teresa Mosqueda announced the schedule for deliberations on the payroll tax bill introduced by Council members Sawant and Morales.
Continue readingThe “Amazon Tax” bill is designed to be immune to referendum
In all the pomp and circumstance that Council member Sawant orchestrated for the rollout of her “Amazon Tax” bill, she neglected to mention one important point: it was specifically written so that it would not be subject to referendum. And Sawant invoked the COVID-19 emergency to do it.
Continue reading“Amazon Tax” bill gets officially introduced
This afternoon, Council members Sawant and Morales officially introduced their “Amazon Tax” legislation into the City Council’s legislative process, but not without a dust-up over who will shepherd it through committee deliberations.
Continue readingSupreme Court declines to hear income tax appeal
This morning the Washington State Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling on Seattle’s progressive income tax ordinance.
Continue readingSawant, Morales revise and accelerate their “Amazon Tax” proposal
This morning, Council members Kshama Sawant and Tammy Morales unveiled an updated version of their proposal for an “Amazon tax,” re-tuned to provide relief for the COVID-19 pandemic.
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