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Seattle is preparing to pass a literal tax on jobs.On May 14, City Council is scheduled to vote on an "employee head tax," which would impose a 26 cent levy on every hour worked by an employee at companies making more than $20 million a year. The tax would hit between 500 and 600 businesses; it is supposed to raise about $75 million a year for homelessness and affordable housing services.Versions of this proposal have been circulating for a while. They've been nicknamed the "Amazon tax"—of that $75 million in revenue, $20 million is expected come from the online retailer.Amazon isn't taking the tax lying down. On Tuesday the company announced that it is pausing construction planning for a 17-story building intended to serve as office space for some 7,000 Amazon employees. Amazon is being uncharacteristically explicit about the reasons for the stall . . .. . . Supporters of the tax were incensed at this unintended yet totally predictable consequence of their policy."If Amazon generally wants to engage about how they can be part of the solution, we welcome that conversation," Councilmember Mike O'Brian said Wednesday, according to The Seattle Times. "But we need companies that are profitable and making billions of dollars every year to help with the folks that are being forced out of housing and ending up on the street" . . . . . . Business groups have been opposed to the idea from the get-go, arguing that the city should do a better job spending the record revenue it is already raking in before it asks for more . . . Vocal opposition from so many corners is encouraging some Seattle politicians to backpedal . . .
