5 years Later, Seattle’s Jump Start Tax A Resounding Flop for Downtown Businesses

It is often said as Seattle and King County Go, so goes the rest of the state. Let's hope not in this case.

  Five Years Later, Seattle's Jump Start Tax a Resounding Flop

From the same minds that wanted to tax Seattle downtown property owners extra if their buildings were unoccupied came the Jump Start Tax.

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The Council approved the tax, which was to take extra money to be used for non-business supporting purposes such as COVID relief, housing assistance, green programs and more.

  The Tax Operates Much Like the Millioniaire's Tax

 Geekwire reports according to a new Downtown Seattle Association Study shows 30,000 jobs were lost since its inception, and taxable revenue from downtown buildings has dropped  48 percent---that means a lot more empty storefronts and offices.

The tax targets the payrolls of the biggest employers in Seattle, such as Amazon, and was projected to rake in about $338 million annualy. However, those numbers have plummeted due to businesses fleeing the area.

Geekwire noted in their story:

"JumpStart was an early example of a wave of new taxes in Washington that has prompted business and tech leaders to warn of an increasingly anti-business climate. Lawmakers have since added a capital gains tax and, this spring, a 9.9% tax on income above $1 million — fueling concerns from some executives about the state’s competitiveness."

Seattle business leaders said they don't necessarily want the tax to go away, 'poof!' but say it needs significant changes...and right now, a pause on the collections until economic conditions improve.   City Officials were quick to defend the tax, saying a lot of other factors are behing the downtown of the business district.