From the City of Seattle

Today, Mayor Ed Murray and Councilmembers Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle) and Lisa Herbold (District 1, West Seattle & South Park) unveiled a joint proposal to begin shifting Seattle to a more progressive and sustainable tax structure, through a tax on high-income households. The proposal would place a 2 percent tax on joint filers’ income over $500,000 and single tax filers’ income over $250,000. The estimated $125 million in new annual revenue would allow the City to lower the burden associated with property taxes and other regressive taxes, replace federal funding potentially lost through President Trump’s budget cuts, enhance public services such as housing, education, transit, and/or create green jobs while meeting the City’s carbon reduction goals.

“Washington state’s tax structure is the most regressive in the country, putting the burden on many of our most vulnerable residents,” said Mayor Murray. “Leaving cities with only regressive tax options puts the heaviest burden on working people, families and communities of color. By replacing a system that relies too heavily on property and sales taxes with a progressive income tax, we can ease that burden and generate revenue to invest in Seattle priorities – human services, education, affordable housing and reliable transit. This remains one of the major shortcomings of our city and state, and it is finally time to fix it.”

“I ran for office four years ago on a program of a $15 per hour minimum wage, to tax the rich, and for rent control,” said Councilmember Sawant. “We won $15 by building the 15 Now grassroots campaign. Now we’re on the cusp of taxing Seattle’s rich, because socialists, activists, and community organizers have tirelessly built up our movement over the years. Our movement will continue to organize in our interests, against big business and the super rich, to make Seattle affordable for all.”

“People earning $20,000 a year devote two entire months of pay to their yearly tax bill; the 1 percent pay their annual tax bill in only six days,” said Councilmember Herbold. “A tax on high incomes will give Seattle a more equitable revenue structure to fund affordable housing and services addressing homelessness, education, transit, and climate change, and it could also be dedicated to lowering other regressive taxes and replacing federal funding potentially lost to Trump budget cuts.”

The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) has found Washington state’s existing tax structure to be the most regressive in the nation, disproportionately hitting low-income households. ITEP found in 2015 that state and local taxes paid by the 20 percent of Washington families with the lowest incomes amounted to 16.8 percent of their income. In contrast, the tax burden for the 1 percent of families with the highest incomes was 2.4 percent of their income.

“Households with incomes below $21,000 are paying, on average, 16.8 percent of their income in state and local taxes, while those with incomes above $500,000 pay just 2.4 percent said John Burbank, Executive Director of the Economic Opportunity Institute, which co-leads the Trump Proof Seattle Coalition. “It is reasonable for Seattle’s wealthiest residents, who currently pay the lowest tax rates, to pay a little more to make Seattle a better place for everyone – including themselves – to live, work, raise a family and do business.”

The City Council will conduct an initial public hearing regarding this proposal on June 14. It is anticipated City Council will take final action by mid-July.

From the City of Seattle

Councilmember Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle) introduced a bill to require that landlords include a voter registration card and voter registration information among the required documents provided to all new tenants in Seattle.

Seattle’s voters need to update their registration every time they move to participate in Washington’s vote-by-mail system. Renters move more frequently than homeowners, and studies show that renters are less likely to be registered to vote than homeowners. This bill will provide renters with the tools they need to re-register, or register for the first time. 

“In a system that is overwhelmingly stacked against us, working class people, young people, and communities of color are routinely disenfranchised. This is especially true of Seattle’s renters, who are increasingly being uprooted by skyrocketing rents, and forced to re-register to vote every time they move. This legislation will take one step toward helping working people fight for their rights, including for rent control,” said Councilmember Sawant. 

“The tenants who reach out to us face regular displacement, sometimes as often as every few months. These moves are disruptive to all areas of life, and regularly updating voter registrations is a challenge. Including these forms with the packet already mandated at the start each new tenancy is a small but significant way of facilitating community involvement and civic engagement for renters, who make up the majority of the city’s residents,” said Hana Aličić from the Tenants’ Union of Washington State. 

“Renters make up 80% of people living in my neighborhood, Capitol Hill. We end up moving more frequently to keep up with rising rents, which can make it hard to remember to maintain an up-to-date voter registration. Today’s legislation will bring access to those whose voices we so often exclude from our political and civic process. This is the right move for renters, for our city, and our democracy,” said Zachary DeWolf from the Capitol Hill Community Council. 

“Nearly every tenant that we work with wants to be engaged one way or another, but many simply don’t have the time or resources to register to vote. Giving them the option to register upon move-in will remove that barrier and provide every Seattle renter with the opportunity to shape our city,” said Devin Silvernail from Be:Seattle.

“At the Washington Bus we are consistently trying to find more opportunities to lower the barriers to access in our democratic process. Studies show that voting is a habit — meaning those that vote from one address consistently over time tend to get contacted more frequently by campaigns and candidates, and thus are reminded to vote more often. As an organization of young people, by young people, for all people we know that young people, low income communities, and communities of color often rent and change addresses at higher rates than older, wealthier demographics. By requiring landlords to provide voter registration opportunities upon move-in, we can make our local elections and local representation much more inclusive and more accurately reflect our local population. Over the last 10 years, we’ve registered over 52,000 people to vote — and a significant number of those were due to a change in address. This is a small, but significant step towards making the voting process easier for thousands of residents across the City,” said Emilio Garza from The Washington Bus. 

“LGBTQ low-income communities have high rates of displacement in Seattle and therefore move around a lot. Often LGBTQ renters have not updated their voter registration, making it more difficult to express their voice in elections. This ordinance is a great solution to ensuring LGBTQ renter’s voices are still participating in our electoral system,” said Debbie Carlsen from LGBTQ Allyship.

“APACEvotes believes this new ordinance will make voter registration more accessible and convenient for refugees, immigrants, People of Color, and working folks living on limited-incomes who are disproportionately impacted by rising rents and the need to move more frequently. One of the biggest barriers to civic engagement that our community faces is the need for translated voter materials in Limited-English-Proficiency homes. This new rule would provide voter registration forms and information to all new tenants in the appropriate translated languages available. This is an exciting opportunity for our city to ensure more voices are represented in the democratic process,” said Christina Reiko Shimizu from Asian Pacific Islander Americans for Civic Empowerment Votes (APACEvotes). 

Sawant’s legislation will be discussed in the Energy and Environment Committee on June 13 at 2:00 p.m.

“I was at Ingraham High School today to hand out the first ORCA Youth Cards that offer 50-cent rides all summer on King County Metro Transit routes. Sound Transit fares are reduced to $1. ” From King County Executive Dow Constantine via Facebook

From King County and Sound Transit

Metro and Sound Transit will offer reduced fares from mid-June through Labor Day to all youth who use an ORCA Youth card to pay their fares. Metro will provide free cards to youth who do not already have one. All youth between the ages of 6-18 are eligible.

Metro will offer free ORCA Youth cards and a special 50-cent reduced fare for young people who ride Metro buses this summer. Sound Transit will offer a $1 youth fare. Regular prices are $5 for ORCA Youth cards; $1.50 per ride for youths on Metro services; and $1.50 to $4.25 for youths riding Sound Transit trains and buses.

Metro established the pilot program to encourage more King County youth to ride transit and make it easier for young people to get around town.

“By making it easier to take Metro this summer, we help young people get to jobs, parks, libraries and all the region has to offer. We know that mobility is key to opportunity, and these reduced fares will open doors to the next generation of transit riders,” said Executive Constantine, who also serves on the Sound Transit board. “More people are taking public transportation than ever before. With expanded services and more buses, Metro is meeting the needs of a growing region. Encouraging young people to ride Metro and Sound Transit this summer will help them learn our transit network, and develop commuter habits to last a lifetime.”

In King County, youth riders can save up to $36 per month on Metro Transit, based on the price for a monthly pass. Metro and Sound Transit established the pilot program to encourage more youth to ride transit and make it easier for young people to get around.

Executive Constantine joined Seattle City Council and Sound Transit board member Rob Johnson to announce the ORCA Summer Youth Promotion during an event at Ingraham High School in North Seattle.

“As a region we are committed to combating climate change, increasing economic opportunity, and decreasing housing costs.  The single best way to achieve all three of those goals is to create frequent and reliable access to public transportation,” Councilmember Johnson said. “Today’s announcement that we will be decreasing the cost to ride transit for all kids in King County between 6-18 from $1.50 to 50 cents is a huge step in the right direction, and a victory I am thrilled to celebrate today with Dow.”

“Sound Transit is proud to join with King County Metro in providing reduced summer fares for area youth. Whether they are traveling to work, play or summer classes, this promotion will encourage young people to see how easy it is to get around on our region’s interconnected network of trains and buses,” said Sound Transit CEO Peter Rogoff.

During the school year, many students rely on ORCA cards issued by their schools. Five school districts in King County provide students with free ORCA passes as part of their student transportation programs, but those cards expire when the school year ends. Metro averages above 400,000 ORCA youth boardings per month during the school year, but that drops to less than 130,000 during summer months.

Youth also can enjoy 50-cent fares on the Seattle Streetcar when using an ORCA Youth card.

How to get a free ORCA Youth card

Go to ORCASummerYouth.com, fill out the online form and submit along with a scanned copy of one of the following: a student ID, state ID, driver’s license or birth certificate. Cards will be mailed for free.

ORCA Youth cards also are available in person at the Metro sales office at the King Street Center in Pioneer Square at 201 South Jackson Street and at various public events and locations where Metro sets up “ORCA to GO” booths to provide customer assistance. Check Metro’s website for times and locations.

The ORCA Youth card’s e-purse will need to be loaded with monetary value or a monthly pass before it can be used. Cards can be loaded at participating retailers around King County, ORCA vending machines at Link stations, the Downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel, major transit centers, and at the Metro pass sales office at King Street Center.