That didn’t take long.
Just a month after passing a controversial “head tax” on employees, the Seattle City Council is reportedly considering repealing it.
The Seattle Times reported Monday night that Council President Bruce Harrell “without warning” scheduled a meeting for Tuesday to vote on repealing the $275-per-employee annual tax, with which the city hoped to raise $47 million annually to fund housing and anti-homelessness programs — a move widely praised by progressive activists nationwide.
According to the Times, Mr. Harrell, Mayor Jenny Durkan, and six other council members signaled their support for repealing the tax, which had provoked a furious backlash from businesses such as Amazon.
“Council members said polling and talks with constituents had persuaded them to change course,” the Times reported.
“The people I talk to, whether it’s at the grocery store or coffee shop or basketball game, people do not seem convinced the employee-hours tax strategy is the right solution,” Mr. Harrell told the Times in an interview at City Hall. “I think we have to listen.”
A Tuesday repeal also could have a political-motive angle.
A campaign called No Tax on Jobs was scheduled to submit the needed signatures Tuesday to put a repeal of the “head tax” on the November ballot, a referendum that would have at least the potential of catching council members’ re-election campaigns in the crossfire.
• Victor Morton can be reached at vmorton@washingtontimes.com.
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