By Dan Calabrese ——Bio and Archives--June 13, 2018
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The about-face shows how severely the tax debate polarized Seattle, pitting some politicians and city residents against big employers like Amazon, Starbucks Corp. andNordstrom Inc. It also reflects the depth of divisions about how best to deal with growing homelessness in West Coast cities where wealth, spurred by technology companies and other fast-growing businesses, has raised the cost of living, pushing more people into poverty and homelessness. Among councilmembers ready to repeal the tax, some characterized it as caving to business interests but said they had no better options. Councilmember Lorena González, who signed the statement on the repeal, criticized the business community for “choosing to double-down on polarizing the issue of homelessness and fostering divide amongst Seattle residents.” “I regret that it appears that powerful and well-resourced interests have swayed public opinion to believe that more is not needed,” she said. The Seattle tax passed after months of debate and a last-minute flurry of public protests on both sides of the issue. The tax would have levied $275 per employee on companies with more than $20 million in annual revenue, or about 3% of Seattle-based businesses, according to the City Council. It was projected to raise about $47 million a year, to be spent on affordable-housing and homeless services.
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