The City Council unanimously passed two tax increases on city businesses
Running a Business is About To Get More Expensive in Seattle
Another day, another tax on
Washington small businesses.
The Seattle City Council on July 25
unanimously voted to raise the business license tax certificate fee,
in addition to a slight increase in the city’s business and occupation tax,
according to the Puget Sound Business Journal.
At first, the increase will affect
only larger businesses, but small businesses will feel the sting of this tax by
2020, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported. As many as 64,150 businesses
will be affected by this tax increase, according to the article.
Unlike large businesses—which will
see a whopping 2,082 percent increase in the fee for business licenses in
2019—small businesses will see their fee for business licenses rise with the
rate of inflation beginning in 2020, the article stated.
The revenue generated from these
taxes will go toward adding 200 new police officers to the city’s police force,
updating Seattle’s 911 center, and making technological improvements at the
police department, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. The project
is expected to cost $23 million, and the fee is projected to generate an
additional $5.5 million in revenue in 2017.
The business and occupation tax will
go up a total of 3.2 percent. The first increase will take place Jan. 1, and it
will raise the tax by 2 percent. A 1.2 percent increase will take effect Jan.
1, 2018.
