Councilmember Alex Pedersen (District 4 Northeast Seattle) announced Wednesday a bold tax reform to make our system more fair for Seattle with legislation eliminating a regressive water tax for everyone and replacing it with a 2% local expansion of the States new progressive tax on high-end capital gains.
Matching the new State law, this local tax would apply to only a very small number who gain more than $250,000 in a single year from the sale of assets, such as stocks or bonds, and it would exempt retirement savings and real estate transactions. Using zip code-level information gathered for the state-level capital gains excise tax, a local 2% could generate approximately $50 million annually, which would offset the amount City Halls General Fund takes from your water bills each year, so that this tax reform is essentially revenue-neutral.
The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) consistently ranks Washington State as one of the most unfair systems in the country, where lower-income residents pay a much higher percentage of their household earnings for taxes and fees than wealthier residents.
Speakers include:
Councilmember Alex Pedersen, City of Seattle
More information: https://council.seattle.gov/2023/06/07/release-councilmember-pedersen-launches-bold-tax-reform-to-make-the-system-more-fair-for-seattle/
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