It should just be a ballot initiative period. Don't leave it to the council, because no one like them. Let's see what the citizens have to say.

Although I wish it were a countywide measure. If you're going to do a head tax, you need to get Boeing in the mix. They're still the region's largest employer, and they're more tied to here than most of the tech companies.

I think it should just be put to a vote. Create the bill, publish it, and get it on the ballot. Let the people decide if big businesses should share a greater tax burden than the common citizen. Get rid of the grandstanding and just find out what the people want.

Sawant on NPR today:
1. Could not tell the interviewer how the "new" Head Tax would not tax Dick's Burgers or Uwajimaya the same per employee annual fee as Amazon and other "millionaires and billionaires"
2. Sawant said Amazon does not pay their "fair share" in Washington despite paying over $250 million in State taxes in 2017. She could not name how much they actually pay, or what a "fair share" would be.
3. Sawant continues to fight against calling it a "Head Tax" or a "tax on employees" because it is taxing the "shareholders" and "executives"... but the tax she proposes is an annual per employee tax that does ONE thing, it incentivizes companies in Seattle only, to have the least number of employees...
4. If any of you think that the revenue from the Head Tax will reduce homelessness in Seattle by even 10% and it passes and does that or close to it, I will buy you a keg of Manny's.
5. Amazon and Jeff Bezos have done more for Seattle than any other company in history. They bought their multi-Billion dollar headquarters in SLU that they will pay property taxes on.... forever. They championed a nationwide $15 min wage (that Sawant takes credit for) that got Walmart, the largest employer in the nation to follow suit. Amazon has empowered the elderly and disabled to access almost anything at anytime. It has improved so many lives, saved so much time and money for everyone that even Sawant's own people use it instead of "buying local". Which I encourage when it makes sense.
Note: I do not work for Amazon. I have no financial incentive to approve of Amazon. I voted for Hillary. Sawant is an incompetent Socialist.

Washington State and the US Congress should pass this too.

We know Comrade Trump is receiving rubles via German banks, and Saudi real in the amount of billions of USD, so we need to keep foreign money out of US elections, other than individual contributions by US citizens (e.g. Israel/US dual citizenship).

This without a doubt is amazing to watch. Socialism at it's best. You want to make sure the homeless issue improves?
Then force services on those that continue to be arrested. When people say you can't force services on those that continue to choose to live without rules and throw them back out to the streets after jail then that is a contradiction of what they are trying to accomplish. 270 million dollars of taxes by Amazon in 2017 and what? Between 80k to 170k per homeless person and you can't fix the issue? These ideas are incredibly stupid. Amazon leaves and then what? You think the city was able to get to where it is without them or Boeing? Let's see: Create jobs, pay better, offer benefits, and even heck still give generous donations to the community to solve issues such as homelessness. What happens when they leave and all those jobs go with them. What happens when Seattle does lose those 270 million dollars in taxes. There are those who truly need assistance and the time to get back on their feet. What happens to those who just don't want to put the time and effort in order to make more money, to ensure they are taking care of themselves and families. I myself have to work the 120 hours per two weeks in order to make sure that i have everything I want for family and self. I want to make myself better and have a shot at making it out of what I used to live in the hood. No one gave me anything and I made it. If I made it then believe me when I say that when people continue to get hand offs then they won't make it cause they get comfortable. Yes I come from a single parent immigrant who not one day in her life had anything other than 1800 dollars a month after taxes and still made it. Still had stable housing and was able to clothe me and feed me. You want more then work for it. This is bad and seattlelites will feel the negative impact sooner or later. Just look at Venezuela, cuba, and other countries with socialistic views and then you will see failed states.

She hasn't "laid out a bill" she even said on NPR today they are "figuring it out" and are having a meeting to discuss what kind of tax to implement. In other words, they have NO idea what the are doing, what kind of tax do even do, how it will work, what then negative impact will be or how to run a city. But hey, who cares. Screw Amazon and rich people right?

@8 the fastest GDP and Middle Class growth in America was when income tax on amounts over $1 million was 90%, actually. It was also very rapid when it was 70% for amounts over $1 million.

Of course, during the former, corporate income tax was 50% and for the latter corporate income tax was 40%, and corporate taxes were 2/3 of US Treasury revenues. My dad was one of the few people to be required to pay income taxes during both periods.

The council wants the amazon tax to be $200-$500 million a year. With a total employed 2019 workforce is about 470,000. Annual tax of $425. to $1,064 to be collected if it was levied on each employed person in Seattle. Considerably higher per employee if it is limited to 5% of Seattle businesses the repealed head tax targeted. But not to worry CM Sawant is an economist, right?

@12 Marginal tax rates tell you very little about how much is actually paid. when top marginal rates were 91% compared to now at 36.9%, the average tax rate paid is within are within a few percentage points. High income earners pay more than ;ow income earners as a whole of the actual income tax burden and an proportionally. Also, high income earners pay more proportionally now than they did in the 50's and early 60's when there was a top 91% tax rate.

Why does anyone believe that Amazon should not pay taxes? Seriously? Why should Amazon not have have to pay one red cent in federal taxes when everyone else in this society who is not a billionaire or a corporation must pay taxes? Everyone who does not want to pay taxes should feel free to live without any public services (good luck living in a dirt hole in some unincorporated area somewhere with nothing)!!!

@16 xina: Agreed and seconded. Amazon, Starbuck's, and Boeing should be among multi-billion dollar corporations paying the HIGHEST taxes.

Meanwhile, while Sawant is grandstanding, local businesses are busy combating homelesness:

https://www.king5.com/video/news/local/marys-place-raises-3-million/281-f2595771-6d7c-4bbb-832e-8c49242e8aab

16. "Why does anyone believe that Amazon should not pay taxes? Seriously?" Hey doofus. the City Council has nothing to do with the Federal Tax Code. Amazon does pay it's State and Local taxes.

Sawant’s bait and switch. Same as her campaign. Talking about rent control and knowing full well that it was a state legislative issue and not local. Now it’s taxing Amazon! What has she and her Party done for example Mary’s place or creating jobs. Nothing. And what has she done to help the Chinatown-International District struggle against gentrification and the displacement of small businesses, low-income elderly residents, preserving the Bush Garden, etc. Absolutely nothing!

You know what city has lots of affordable housing downtown? Detroit... We are on our way.