Rep. Shaun Scott is holding a town hall on First Hill this weekend as his office prepares for the legislative session ahead.
The 43rd District representative says the “Tax The Rich”-themed town hall will be “a great opportunity for community members to gather, get loud, and voice their support for progressive revenue before the January 2026 legislative session.”
The town hall comes amid calls for more belt-tightening after Gov. Bob Ferguson’s previous budget depended on spending cuts and new taxes to reach a balance. The storms of financial uncertainty and Trump administration threats have further clouded forecasts.
Scott’s town hall will include Hannah Sabio-Howell of Working Washington, reporter Guy Oron of Real Change, and Seattle DSA member Areesa Somani.
It will take place Saturday, October 11th from 3:30 to 5 PM at the Seattle First Baptist Church at 1111 Harvard Ave.
Scott was elected to represent the 43rd last November over anti-homeless encampment activist and outreach organizer Andrea Suarez.
The 43rd is also served by Rep. Nicole Macri and Sen. Jamie Pedersen. The legislators typically gather together in February for a town hall recapping the legislative session.
The 43rd District includes portions of downtown, most of Capitol Hill, Eastlake, Madison Valley and Madison Park, Montlake, and the University District.
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bring some order to the streets and good government services to washington, shaun, then we can talk about changing taxes.
I wonder who “the rich” look like in the mind of Shaun Scott. And why he believes that we aren’t “taxing” everyone enough already.
The rich are probably the people who live below broadway who are not taxed enough. People making over 250k
Maybe we could start with the SFH owners east of Broadway, first.
Our property taxes just went up massively.
Love Shawn! Cope and seethe haters
The only thing I worry about when it comes to taxing the rich, especially the ultra rich, is that they might leave our state, and take the tax revenue they would bring in to our state with them, if they believe they are being taxed too much (even if they actually aren’t). Jeff Bezos is a prime example of this (he moved to Florida, at least partially citing taxes). While I strongly support the idea of raising taxes on the rich, who can most certainly afford it, we do have to contend with the reality that, if they don’t like it, justifiably or not, they can, and in some cases, will, leave, thereby reducing or even wiping out any additional tax revenue the state would bring in. This may have been part of why Govenror Ferguson was opposed to the idea of a wealth tax back during this year’s legislative session. Its a great idea on paper, but in reality, it may backfire miserably.
But then there’s Mackenzie Scott (Bezos’ ex-wife) who stayed put in Seattle with a big chunk of their combined wealth. Not everyone is as much of a dick as Jeff Bezos.
You think she will be impacted by _any_ of the taxes Rep. Scott will be in favor of? She doesn’t work a job, she’s not paying into the BS non-portable long-term care program at over $600/yr. She’s not paying capital gains taxes, she’s taking loans against her billions rather than selling stock. What you don’t seem to get is that there are 49 other states I can live in, and yes, some have income tax — but they also function better than ours does.
When my kids go off to college, I’m out. And I’m taking my spending with me.
She already donated millions each year. Does she really need to be taxed more? What will the taxes be used for? Every tax Levy this year doubled or tripled already. When will it be enough?
Your fears are unfounded. Washington has the second-lowest tax burden in the country on top earners, behind only Florida. The state has a tremendous amount of room to raise taxes on that cohort before it even approaches the national average, let alone sparks a capital flight. (And the idea that someone like Bezos, who can easily afford to live anywhere in the world, would choose his domicile based on tax rates is absurd no matter what he says.)
The capital gains tax and the estate taxes actually make Washington one of the most expensive states to die in.
From what I understand, Bezos and his woo buds already have that covered.
But what will the taxes be used for. Progressives elect candidates that come up with new taxes. But they never have good plans to spend them and they never oversee the programs that spend the money.