A King County judge has tossed a lawsuit against Seattle’s new tax on high-earning workers at large businesses, ruling that it is within the city’s authority to tax businesses.
The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce had challenged the tax, arguing it was a tax on employees and calling it “illegal, invalid, and unenforceable.”
King County Superior Court Judge Mary Roberts on Friday sided with the city, ruling the tax applies to businesses, not their employees, and “is a constitutionally permissible excise tax on the privilege of doing business,” The Seattle Times reported.
The tax, which passed in 2020, is expected to generate over $200 million a year to pay for affordable housing, community-led development, local business assistance and Green New Deal investments.
