Any resolution with which all nine councilmembers can immediately and unanimously agree is either obvious (not taxes!) or meaningless (it’s this one).
As one of the attorneys in the income tax lawsuit, I have looked at this. It raises very different issues than the income tax, but the City Council still can't shoot straight. If they pass it, they will just be asking for another challenge. The sad truth is that Washington's tax system really is broken. We have a nineteenth century system in the age of the internet. But we need to fix the system, not pile on more taxes. We could have a much fairer and more efficient system.
This is not going to be a slam-dunk, no matter Gonzalez's very welcome determination. Bagshaw apparently wants a levy put forth instead, which means property tax. That will not go over well and is a hell of a lot more regressive than a head tax which will hit only about 5% of the City's big businesses.
That's fine, I'm sure the homeless can wait until spring to come indoors. I mean, the Seattle Process is important. No but seriously, they rejected a head tax and then pledged to pass the same head tax, but like, later? That's the same excuse I use to avoid cleaning my house! If you've already decided to pass the tax, what is the point of another task force? You're only shooting yourself in the foot here. If the task force recommends against the tax, then you have to break your pledge. If they support the tax, then you get shit for not passing it in November. This is not what leadership looks like. This is cowardice.
Matthew Davis