Seattle ‘Amazon Tax’ Eyed by Lawmakers as Statewide Template (2)

Washington’s State’s majority Democratic lawmakers are turning their attention to Seattle’s “Amazon Tax” as a template to address a projected $3.6 billion revenue shortfall and a plethora of pandemic-related and social service needs.

Like the Seattle tax, a statewide bill would tax business payroll expenses on cumulative salaries over a minimum compensation threshold, likely around $150,000, at rates that could range from .1% to .25%.

Businesses, including Amazon, see support for a statewide payroll tax bill as a way to kill Seattle’s tax and eliminate the possibility of such taxes proliferating around the state by inserting a clause in the ...