Seattle City Council approves income tax on the wealthy

http://www.seattletimes.com ^ | 07/10/2017 | Daniel Beekman

[BackRoads775]

The Seattle City Council unanimously approved a pioneering new income tax on wealthy residents Monday. A a legal challenge is widely anticipated.

The measure applies a 2.25 percent tax on total income above $250,000 for individuals and above $500,000 for married couples filing their taxes together.

The city has estimated the tax will raise about $125 million a year and cost $10 million to $13 million to set up, plus $5 million to $6 million per year to run and enforce.

The council’s finance committee cleared the tax last week, increasing the rate from 2 percent to 2.25 percent.

[CodeToad]

"The city has estimated the tax will raise about $125 million a year and cost $10 million to $13 million to set up, plus $5 million to $6 million per year to run and enforce. " Liberals are morons. They cannot think dynamically, such as the flight of the rich such that there are not the same number to meet those calculations.

[IWontSubmit]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Lenin,_Seattle

[bob_esb]

it is so horrible - and a trick

It is not a 2.5% on income over $250K
It is a 2.5% on all income if the final total is over $250K

[exit82]

Thanks—this statue came to mind when I read the title of the article.

This statue deserves a liberal helping of C4. It is a sacrilege on American soil.

Instead a monument of the Ten Commandments gets destroyed.

[A Formerly Proud Canadian]

My guess is that Bill does not live with the ‘riff raff’ in Seattle; likely in a VERY gated suburb. IIRC, doesn’t his ‘shack’ sit on the Pacific Ocean; a multiple room mansion and compound? (Not jealous of his wealth; after all, he came up with a marketing idea that worked! Won’t discuss the quality of the product.)

[OrangeHoof]

Can’t they just hold down Paul Allen and steal all his money? It would be a bit simpler.

[zerosix]

Yeah Seattle!

First, $15.00 per hour for Starbuck's guys and gals (is that bigoted toward the X's?) and now, tax the rich so they'll just move out of town!

Is "America a Great Country or What!"

[Billthedrill]

Gates doesn’t live in Seattle. He lives in Medina. It’s on the Bellevue side of Lake Washington. And yeah, you might call that a fairly posh neighborhood... ;-)

[RightGeek]

Gates lives in Medina on fresh water Lake Washington - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Gates%27s_house

[Teacher317]

It would be sooooo difficult for those making $250k alone, or $500k for a couple, to find an address outside of city limits. Ahem.

[littleharbour]

In Canada municipalities cannot tax income. They can gouge homeowners but otherwise can’t go after income directly. It’s bad enough that some of us have close to a 55% combined federal-provincial marginal tax rate.

[from occupied ga]

Every county in Maryland and Baltimore city has an income tax in addition to the state income tax.

[2001convSVT]

Seattle will soon be facing a mass exodus people with money and they will soon become the Detroit of the west.

[minnesota_bound]

I remember it was Bill Gates and his father who were for this years ago.
They of course would have their money in tax dodges.

How many people will lose their jobs now because of another tax on those that create the jobs!

[bravo whiskey]

seems to me if i were rich enough to pay this i would be rich enough to move, even if just outside city limits.

[Maine Mariner]

I think with federal, state, and NYC city tax plus social security taxes, the self-employed must have about 50% of their gross income going for taxes.

[Secret Agent Man]

Exodus. There will be.

[A_Former_Democrat]

Indeed

And an A-Hole Tax too

Just think how much $$$ THAT would raise

[clee1]

It will raise nothing. The wealthy will leave.

[shanover]

Bye,Bye Seattle meme is called for.