Tag Archives: tax amazon

Tax Amazon campaign hit with late reporting fine

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The Tax Amazon campaign is being hit with a $2,500 fine by the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission over late filings on more than $100,000 in contributions.

“The Tax Amazon 2020 Committee (the “Committee”) filed 25 C-3s reporting almost $100,000 in contributions multiple days late,” a letter sent to the campaign’s manager Eva Metz last week reads. “In addition, a C-4 that showed how much money the campaign had on hand in mid-July was filed almost a month late, and another amendment showing an additional $23,000 in spending was filed today.” Continue reading →

Tax Amazon calls for support against ‘corporate loopholes’ as Seattle Council votes on ‘progressive revenue’ tax on big businesses

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Seattle’s bid to create a new pool of “progressive revenue” to help the city overcome the economic downturn expected to stem from the COVID-19 crisis faces its final vote with the Seattle City Council Monday afternoon.\

Budget chair Teresa Mosqueda’s plan for a tax on big businesses is hoped to help Seattle overcome its forecasted budget shortfalls due to COVID-19 and to fund affordable housing, equitable development, and economic support for small businesses through a new tax on the city’s largest businesses that could generate more than $200 million a year. Continue reading →

Sawant loses fight but ‘Tax Amazon’ COVID-19 relief and housing proposal begins path through Seattle City Hall

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With COVID-19 set to tear up the city’s budget, District 3 Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant has turned again to a familiar target: Amazon and the biggest two percent of businesses. But Monday, her council counterparts opted to send a proposal for a new tax on Seattle’s largest companies to provide emergency relief from the pandemic down a legislative pathway not controlled by the Socialist Alternative representative for Capitol Hill’s District 3.

More than 5,400 people signed a petition to the council spearheaded by Sawant to enact the new tax proposed last month with South Seattle rep Tammy Morales. Another over 1,100 people emailed council members calling on them to send the legislation to Sawant’s Sustainability and Renters’ Rights Committee.

Monday, the suite of three bills was sent unanimously to the Select Budget Committee, chaired by council member Teresa Mosqueda, who said she would work to get the legislation a robust discussion with urgency.

Sawant levied criticisms against council member Lisa Herbold and council president Lorena GonzĂĄlez for their votes to repeal her head tax on Amazon in 2018.

Monday, several council members, including Herbold, pushed back against Sawant for promoting the idea of a divided council during an emergency.

“I don’t think it’s helpful to really promote that divisive approach to how the council does its business,” Herbold said. “I think this council acts in a way that’s fair and respectful of one another.”

Council member Debora Juarez said “this type of politics in the midst of a lethal pandemic, to me, is unacceptable and a waste of time.” Continue reading →

The Sawant-Morales plan: Accelerate ‘Amazon Tax’ for $500/month Seattle COVID-19 relief payments

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(Image: Tax Amazon)

Capitol Hill and the Central District’s Seattle City Council representative Kshama Sawant and her South Seattle counterpart Tammy Morales are putting forth a proposal to accelerate their Tax Amazon effort to raise around $200 million in funds to help residents overcome the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

The new version of the legislation slated for council chambers would shift revenue from a tax on Seattle’s largest companies to provide four months of $500 cash payments to 100,000 qualifying households across the city in an emergency measure prioritizing assistance to “seniors; those that are undocumented, immigrants, and refugees; individuals experiencing homelessness; working people who have lost incomes and become destitute as a result of the pandemic; and, others who experience structural or institutional barriers to accessing support from the government.”

“We know that $500 a month will not cover rent fully; but it can help buy groceries or diapers or help cover health care costs. And we know how important it will be to pass legislation that addresses these issues holistically and work with our partners at every level,” Morales said in a statement announcing the plan. “It is also vital that Seattle begin to think strategically about how to rebuild our communities in a way that ensures resiliency and full recovery for our neighbors.” Continue reading →

Tax Amazon group filing to put $300M Seattle big business tax for ‘social housing and a Green New Deal’ on the ballot

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With new political support and after the stalling out of statewide legislation that some feared would undermine the effort in the city, backers of the push to tax Amazon and large companies in Seattle say they are ready to take their cause to voters.

The Tax Amazon group said Thursday it is filing a ballot initiative on the tax “in order to fund social housing and a Green New Deal.”

The “community movement” is “prepared to act if [the] city council refuses,” the group says.

“Big business has long been enjoying a tax haven in Seattle and Washington State,” District 3 representative Kshama Sawant said in the announcement:

  • The tax will raise at least $300 million in funding annually, ongoing and with no “sunset clause,” with a tax of 0.7% on corporate payroll for the top 3% of businesses in Seattle. It will exempt all nonprofits, cooperatives, and small businesses. Continue reading →

State effort to create a new business tax for homelessness and housing stalls out in Olympia

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A state legislative effort Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant derisively referred to as the Protect Bezos Act has died in the 2020 session’s legislative process in Olympia.

HB 2948 couldn’t find the needed support and didn’t make it out of the House Committee on Finance. 43rd District Rep. Nicole Macri co-sponsored the proposal that would have allowed King County to institute a tax on businesses to pay for homelessness and housing. The 0.1% to 0.2% tax on the payrolls of large employers would have generated around $121 million per year in Seattle. Continue reading →

South Seattle rep Morales joins Sawant push on $300M ‘Tax Amazon’ legislation

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(Image: @TaxAmazonMvt)

Capitol Hill’s representative to the Seattle City Council introduced a new partner — and some new math — Wednesday morning in her effort to create a new payroll tax on the city’s largest employers to pay for housing and homelessness services.

District 3 representative Kshama Sawant announced that her new District 2 colleague Tammy Morales, representing South Seattle, has joined as co-sponsor of the so-called Tax Amazon legislation, Sawant’s proposal to create a payroll tax on the city’s largest 3% of businesses in Seattle that her office says would raise $300 million annually.

The proposal also has some new math in the equation — the city legislators now say the tax on large companies like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Expedia can be lower than first planned and still generate similar revenue. Continue reading →

‘Amazon Tax Legislation’ unveiled — Plan would tax payrolls of Amazon and Seattle’s ‘825 biggest companies’

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Swatting away ethics concerns, Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant unveiled her proposal Wednesday morning that would raise $300 million for housing and environmental initiatives with a tax on Amazon and Seattle’s largest payrolls.

“On behalf of our movement, I’m excited to put forward this bold, transformative proposal,” Sawant said. “We know that big business, the wealthy, and the political establishment will staunchly oppose this, and that we will need a powerful movement. If we win, this will not only transform the lives of Seattle’s working people, it will set a historical marker for cities around the nation.”

The online giant remains in Sawant’s crosshairs. Sawant’s official Seattle City Council press release on the announcement calls her proposal the “Amazon Tax Legislation.” Continue reading →

Seattle City Council Insight: Sawant hit with ethics charges over Tax Amazon campaign — UPDATE

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With reporting by SCC Insight

Kshama Sawant’s January inauguration for her third term on the Seattle City Council was also the launch of a new “Tax Amazon” movement in Seattle. It may have also violated city ordinances and state laws.

Monday, the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission charged Sawant with ethics violations for using her office to promote a potential ballot measure.

Sawant has made a revived “Tax Amazon” movement a key component of her third term at City Hall. Sawant’s office says her plan for a Seattle tax on large companies would would raise between $200 million and $500 million annually for homelessness services and housing.

The campaign has a web site registered to Calvin Priest, a Socialist Alternative employee and Sawant’s husband, and has held a string of organizing meetings. At their January 25th meeting, the group passed a resolution establishing its intent to put a voter initiative on the November 2020 ballot to impose a new head tax on large companies in Seattle. The campaign is also gathering names on a petition opposing a preemption clause in HB 2907, the bill currently pending in the state legislature that would authorize King County to impose a payroll tax.  The Tax Amazon campaign is also fundraising, soliciting donations on its web site. Continue reading →

Kshama Sawant’s inauguration a battle cry to ‘Tax Amazon’

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Making her agenda crystal clear, Kshama Sawant’s Monday night inauguration to her third term on the Seattle City Council was also the launch of a new “Tax Amazon” movement in Seattle.

“We need a clear and fearless message that will inspire working people and community members to come out and get involved,” Sawant said in front of a packed crowd at the Central District’s Washington Hall. “We need a message that will sound as powerful in spirit for working people around the country, hence: Tax Amazon,” Sawant said.

Despite the freezing weather, supporters filled the 14th Ave venue to celebrate the decisive victory of the Socialist Alternative incumbent over Egan Orion in November. Orion was backed by an unprecedented $1.5 million in funding from Amazon, a “blatant attempt to buy City Hall.” The election backlash to the Amazon cash also helped Sawant secure key new allies — her fellow council members as the council’s two citywide representatives — Teresa Mosqueda and Lorena González embraced the Socialist Alternative leader and a slate of progressive candidates.

“Together we defeated the richest man in the world,” one of the emcees Eva Metz, Sawant’s campaign finance director, proudly declared. Continue reading →