The 'Head Tax' Failed in Seattle; Cities Still Want the Tax to Support Housing, Transit

If your city was home to some of the wealthiest, largest companies in the country, would you tax them to raise money for more housing and transit service?

2 minute read

June 13, 2018, 1:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Seattle, Washington

VDB Photos / Shutterstock

"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.

Seattle is not the only city right in tech company capitalism and short on housing affordability to consider the head tax. At the beginning of May, Wendy Lee wrote of a "Google Tax" that could "fix every Silicon Valley problem." Specifically, the city of Mountain View is considering a ballot initiative that would tax companies based on how many employees they have. George Avalos provided coverage of the same proposed tax later in the month.

The potential spread of head taxes gained attention around the country. Writing for the Seattle Times, in the home of Amazon, Eric Newcomer wrote of the numerous cities considering a version of a head tax, including San Francisco, Cupertino, and East Palo Alto, in addition to Seattle and Mountain View. Articles in Smart Cities Dive, The Wall Street Journal [paywall], and Bloomberg look at the larger trend of cities exploring the head tax as a potential source of funding for the woes of contemporary urban living.

Tuesday, June 12, 2018 in The Seattle Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Aerial view of town of Wailuku in Maui, Hawaii with mountains in background against cloudy sunset sky.

Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly

Verbal attacks, misinformation campaigns and fistfights plague a high-stakes debate to convert thousands of vacation rentals into long-term housing.

July 1, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 2, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Map of Haussmann's redesign of Paris in the 1850s through 1870s under Napoleon III.

In Urban Planning, AI Prompting Could be the New Design Thinking

Creativity has long been key to great urban design. What if we see AI as our new creative partner?

June 30, 2025 - Tom Sanchez

Street with parking protected bike lane and parked cars in downtown Portland, Oregon.

Portland Raises Parking Fees to Pay for Street Maintenance

The city is struggling to bridge a massive budget gap at the Bureau of Transportation, which largely depleted its reserves during the Civd-19 pandemic.

July 8 - Willamette Week

Aerial view of Spokane, Washington with river in foreground.

Spokane Mayor Introduces Housing Reforms Package

Mayor Lisa Brown’s proposals include deferring or waiving some development fees to encourage more affordable housing development.

July 8 - The Spokesman-Review

Close-up on black and white "Bike Lane Ends" sign with bike logo.

Houston Mayor Kills Another Bike Lane

The mayor rejected a proposed bike lane in the Montrose district in keeping with his pledge to maintain car lanes.

July 8 - Houston Public Media

Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools

This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.

Planning for Universal Design

Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.

Associate/Senior Planner

Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development

Senior Planner

Heyer Gruel & Associates PA