The repeal of the $275 per-employee tax marks a victory for Amazon and other businesses that would have paid it and have been funding a referendum campaign against it.

"In a stunning reversal without parallel in Seattle’s recent political history, the City Council voted 7-2 Tuesday to repeal a controversial head tax on large employers like Amazon," reports Daniel Beekman.

The vote comes less than a month after the City Council approved the head tax on a unanimous vote. The approved tax was greatly reduced from the original proposal—from $500 to $275 per employee. The compromise resulted from pressure by Amazon after it halted construction on an expansion project as a result of the proposed tax.

The vote to rescind the tax came after a "business-backed campaign to kill the tax prepared to submit petition signatures this week to qualify the referendum for the November ballot," reports Beekman. For additional coverage of the ongoing debate of the Seattle head tax, see also an article by Sarah Holder.1

Head-tax proponent Emerson Johnson rallies the crowd after speaking to the Seattle City Council at their meeting to repeal the $275-per-employee tax
Head-tax proponent Emerson Johnson rallies the crowd after speaking to the Seattle City Council at their meeting to repeal the $275-per-employee tax © Mike Siegel / The Seattle Times

The vote, ending a raucous special meeting called by Council President Bruce Harrell, came less than a month after the council voted 9-0 to approve the tax of $275 per employee, per year to help fund housing and services for homeless people.

The move also came as a business-backed campaign to kill the tax prepared to submit petition signatures this week to qualify the referendum for the November ballot.

People on both sides of the head-tax debate packed the council chambers, waving signs with the slogans “Tax Amazon” and “No Tax on Jobs.” As the council members voted, they were drowned out by activists who chanted, “Housing is a human right.”

Before the tally, Councilmember Lisa Herbold said she felt like crying but would side with the majority of her colleagues because the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce had managed to persuade “the vast majority” of voters to oppose the tax.

Herbold said she lost hope over the weekend after seeing poll results and talking with advocates. Better to retreat now rather than see voters cancel the tax in November after a bitter, monthslong struggle, she said.

“This is not a winnable battle at this time … The opposition has unlimited resources,” she said, drawing jeers from some in the crowd who wanted to fight on.

Harrell and Herbold joined council members Mike O’Brien, Sally Bagshaw, Rob Johnson, M. Lorena González and Debora Juarez in voting for the repeal.

For Seattle leaders, the vote amounts to an embarrassing about-face. Only a few weeks ago, Durkan and council members were hailing the tax as an important step in the city’s response to a homelessness state of emergency declared in 2015.

They didn’t count on how quickly business leaders would mount a big-money referendum campaign and apparently misjudged how many ordinary voters would support the effort out of frustration with City Hall’s handling of homelessness.

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