I do believe that Seattle is being ran by morons.

Washington is one of seven states that does not have a personal income tax, but this week one of its cities approved one on just its wealthiest residents.

Late Monday the Seattle City Council voted unanimously in favor of a personal income tax on its top earning residents. Individuals with incomes in excess of $250,000 and those filing jointly with incomes in excess of $500,000 would be subject to a 2.25% tariff. People with incomes below those thresholds would not be affected.

Seattle believes the tax will raise around $140 million per year and could help close the wealth gap in the city, while the mayor also cited President Donald Trump’s economic agenda as a reason to introduce the tax.

“Seattle is challenging this state’s antiquated and unsustainable tax structure by passing a progressive income tax,” Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said in a statement on his website. “Our goal is to replace our regressive tax system with a new formula for fairness, while ensuring Seattle stands up to President Trump’s austere budget that cuts transportation, affordable housing, healthcare, and social services. This is a fight for economic stability, equity, and justice.”

The measure was proposed earlier this year by a local activist group named Trump-Proof Seattle, according to Reuters. However, Trump-Proof Seattle’s proposal called for a more modest 1.5% tax, according to the organization’s website.

Due to the explosive growth of Seattle-based Amazon (AMZN), housing prices have skyrocketed in the area—and supporters believe the income tax could be used to expand affordable housing.

“Protecting our communities requires resources. We’re in a weak position to cope with cuts because of Washington State’s regressive tax system: lower-income households already pay high state and local taxes, and yet we can’t fund basic services like education … We can fight back by requiring the wealthiest households to pay a fairer share of taxes,” Trump-Proof Seattle’s site said.

Despite the city’s support, the measure will likely face legal challenges. State law prohibits a city or county from taxing “net” income, though it fails to explicitly define exactly what “net” refers to.

Supporters say the tax would impact just 20,000 out of more than 660,000 Seattle residents. The city hopes its tax will provide an example and open discussions about changing tax structures in other local communities. In addition to Washington, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota Texas and Wyoming do not require residents to pay an income tax.

http://www.foxbusiness.com/pol...es-trump-agenda.html

What could go wrong?

Dr. Frasier Crane got out in time.

That sucking sound up in the northwest?

Money, going out the window.

Sweet, why not make it a 50 percent tax? Let's not beat around the bush here. If 2 percent is good, 50 percent should be real good.

quote:

Sweet, why not make it a 50 percent tax? Let's not beat around the bush here. If 2 percent is good, 50 percent should be real good.

Why not charge registered Democrats a surcharge on top of the surcharge?

They always have these great ideas and claim that they should help, but nobody ever puts them in a legal position to do so.

quote:

Originally posted by a1abdj:

quote:

Sweet, why not make it a 50 percent tax? Let's not beat around the bush here. If 2 percent is good, 50 percent should be real good.

Why not charge registered Democrats a surcharge on top of the surcharge?

They always have these great ideas and claim that they should help, but nobody ever puts them in a legal position to do so.

I like the way you think.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
Sweet, why not make it a 50 percent tax? Let's not beat around the bush here. If 2 percent is good, 50 percent should be real good.

Amazing isn't it?

The article I read yesterday said the initial recommendation was 2% and the "Finance Committee" approved the bill but only after INCREASING the rate to 2.25%.

“Seattle is challenging this state’s antiquated and unsustainable tax structure by passing a progressive income tax,” said Mayor Murray. “Our goal is to replace our regressive tax system with a new formula for fairness, while ensuring Seattle stands up to President Trump’s austere budget that cuts transportation, affordable housing, healthcare, and social services. This is a fight for economic stability, equity, and justice.”

I'm sure it will "close the wealth gap". The big money will leave town and the rest will naturally have a smaller gap.

quote:

Washington is one of seven states that does not have a personal income tax....

In addition to Washington, Alaska, Florida, Nevada, South Dakota Texas and Wyoming do not require residents to pay an income tax.

The forgot New Hampshire....No income tax (or sales tax) here either. Live Free, or Die!

quote:

Originally posted by olfuzzy:
I'm sure it will "close the wealth gap". The big money will leave town and the rest will naturally have a smaller gap.

Not only will the big money leave. Property values will dive because nobody, in the lower income bracket, will be able to afford to buy the empty high value homes.

quote:

Originally posted by olfuzzy:
I'm sure it will "close the wealth gap". The big money will leave town and the rest will naturally have a smaller gap.

The City of St. Louis did this in 1950.
The population peaked that year and people began moving out of the City, to the County and outlying areas without the City earnings tax:



It's been downhill for the City ever since. The City now has a smaller population than it did in 1870, 150 years ago when the population stood at 351,189. In 2010, the most recent census, the population of the City of St. Louis stood at 319,294 down from 856,796 in 1950.

"Progressives" never learn; they end up hurting the people most they say they are helping.

If a state has no personal income tax can a city just decide to have one? Is there any kind of preemption law?

Lets re cap:

1. $15.00 an hour minimum wage not working out but still other Dim ran cities are trying it out:

New Study on Seattle Minimum Wage

2. Seattle Gun Tax is a failure but in spite of that other Dim ran cities are adding that tax:

Seattle Gun Tax

3. Seattle proposes soda tax like NY and Chicago even though it has been a non starter or out right failure:

Seattle Soda Tax

What is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. 2018 and 2020 doesn't look good for the dims.

You know what happened when I raised taxes on my Sims in the SimCity game? Residents left and my tax revenue dried up. I learned that before the age of 15.

Freakin' morons is right.

I'm sure 1%ers are climbing over each other trying to get into the city and pay their fair share.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
You know what happened when I raised taxes on my Sims in the SimCity game? Residents left and my tax revenue dried up. I learned that before the age of 15.

Freakin' morons is right.

Bulldoze one square with trees on it, and the hippies shit transgendered spotted owls too. Then they bitch because there's no roads and parks and water treatment plants. SimCity taught me that hippies should just be gassed. Or crushed by a giant alien robot spider. Either works.

They are doing it, and yet still managed to blame Trump for it.

Cuz all those pesky rich folks wouldn't ever think to move. Is there some kind of ankle bracelet that shackles these folks to the city as well?

I am sure I could google this, but is it 2.25% on anything over $250,000 or is it total? If it is the percentage of all of your income once you trip the $250k mark, there are lots of ways around this. In my opinion, this really is a punishment for high earning single people since it's probably a little more difficult to have a family with two people hitting the $500k mark, still living in Seattle proper.