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Re: new analysis links Seattle’s ‘JumpStart’ tax to downtown decline

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a425couple wrote:
> So the liberal Democratic jerks think "They are rich, they can afford it!"
> Employers say, "We have options!"
> 
> from
> https://www.geekwire.com/2026/five-years-in-new-analysis-ties-seattles-jumpstart-tax-to-downtown-decline/ 
> 
> 
> Five years in, new analysis links Seattle’s ‘JumpStart’ tax to downtown 
> decline
> by Todd Bishop on Jun 15, 2026 at 3:42 pm
> 
> Amazon’s headquarters and neighboring towers in downtown Seattle. 
> (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)
> Updated with comments from Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson.
> 
> A new Downtown Seattle Association report asserts that Seattle’s 
> signature tax on big employers is backfiring, five years after it went 
> into effect, holding up nearby Bellevue as an example of the jobs and 
> prosperity the city has missed out on in the process.
> 
> The report, released Monday afternoon, finds that downtown Seattle has 
> lost about 30,000 jobs since 2020 and that the taxable value of its 
> office buildings has fallen 48% — even as Bellevue, which has no 
> comparable tax, added jobs and saw commercial values rise 7%.
> 
> JumpStart, passed in 2020 and in effect since 2021, taxes the payrolls 
> of Seattle’s largest employers, including Amazon and other big tech 
> companies. It’s projected to raise about $388 million this year, down 
> from earlier forecasts, due in part to the loss of high-paying jobs.
> 
> It is, to a large extent, a tax on big tech. About 70% of JumpStart 
> revenue comes from just 10 companies, most in the technology sector, 
> according to the city’s budget office. That’s a reflection of how 
> heavily Seattle’s economy leans on a handful of large tech employers.
> 
> “These were a set of taxes that may have provided some short-term gain 
> to the city coffers, but are inflicting long-term pain,” DSA President 
> and CEO Jon Scholes said in an interview. “We predicted that at the 
> time, and were sort of dismissed and ignored.”
> 
> Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, in a statement Monday evening, credited 
> JumpStart with helping the city recover from the pandemic and cautioned 
> against blaming downtown’s challenges on any single cause.
> 
> The tax has raised far more than originally projected over the past 
> several years, she said, and let the city avoid deep budget cuts that 
> would have dragged on the local economy.
> 
> “We should be careful not to oversimplify the challenges facing downtown 
> and our regional economy,” Wilson said, blaming “chaotic and 
> counterproductive national economic policies” for higher costs and 
> interest rates that have slowed investment across the city, region, and 
> country.
> 
> Wilson also cited the pandemic, the rise of remote work and broader 
> shifts in the tech sector as forces that have affected cities well 
> beyond Seattle. The city’s recovery, she said, has remained resilient 
> and competitive even as her administration works to diversify the 
> economy for the future.
> 
> Amazon had started to expand in Bellevue prior to the JumpStart tax, 
> following the city’s short-lived 2018 “head tax,” a JumpStart precursor 
> that the council at the time passed and quickly repealed. The company 
> has since built its Bellevue workforce to about 15,000 people, part of 
> what it now calls its broader Puget Sound regional headquarters.
> 
> Related
> 
> The view from Bellevue: Seattle has the foundation for future growth — 
> if it can fix its taxes
> 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.
> 
> The DSA is not calling for outright repeal of the Seattle tax. Scholes 
> said the group wants a “course correction” — incentives and the 
> temporary suspension of payroll or business taxes for companies that 
> invest in Seattle, along with a more welcoming posture from City Hall 
> toward employers.
> 
> The tax was created to fund affordable housing, small-business support, 
> climate programs and equitable development, with the largest share 
> (about 62%) going to housing. But amid recurring budget shortfalls, the 
> city has tapped JumpStart to help prop up its general fund, transferring 
> about $201 million — roughly 47% of the tax’s revenue — to general 
> government operations this year, according to budget documents.
> 
> DSA may face a challenge in proving a direct causal link between the tax 
> and the trends in downtown Seattle. Downtowns across the country, 
> including San Francisco, Portland and Chicago, have seen office values 
> fall and vacancies climb since the pandemic with no comparable tax, due 
> to remote work, tech-sector layoffs and AI-driven cuts.
> 
> Scholes asserted that Bellevue has faced similar pressures yet kept 
> growing.
> 
> “We think it’s a pretty good control group over there,” he said, 
> attributing the divergence to Seattle’s higher cost of doing business 
> and an unwelcoming “tone and tenor” toward employers.
> 
> Scholes said he was encouraged by early signals from Wilson, who has 
> asked city departments to identify spending reductions ahead of her 2027 
> budget, due late this summer. He credited the mayor for that but added 
> that the DSA is taking a wait-and-see approach overall.
> 
> In her statement, Wilson said Seattle “remains one of the 
> fastest-growing big cities in the country,” but added that the city 
> needs “to do more to push against the global and national headwinds and 
> build a city with more businesses opening here, thriving here, and 
> providing jobs here.”
> 
> The key to improving its economic climate, she said, is addressing 
> homelessness, improving public safety, and making Seattle a better, more 
> affordable place to live and work.
> 
> Read the DSA report here.
> 
> 
> GeekWire editor and co-founder Todd Bishop is a business and technology 
> journalist who covers beats including Amazon, Microsoft, AI, and 
> startups, and hosts GeekWire's weekly podcast. X: @toddbishop. Email: 
> todd@geekwire.com. Phone: ‪(530) 230-3439; Signal: 1-206-300-0265.
> 
Half those wealthy people left the country to get away from Trump 
policy. That makes it a split divide between Washington and Washington, 
D.C. to blame.

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And hungry eyes are passing by
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new analysis links Seattle’s ‘JumpStart’ tax to downtown decline a425couple <a425couple@hotmail.com> - 2026-06-16 08:30 -0700
  Re: new analysis links Seattle’s ‘JumpStart’ tax to downtown decline phoenix <j63840576@gmail.com> - 2026-06-16 10:26 -0600

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