This is yet another illegal tax (in the state of WA) that Seattle’s inept, socialist council is trying to push through. Attempts at enacting this tax have failed before because it is hugely unpopular, especially in the business community. It is primarily the work of Kshama Sawant (not Mosqueda as the article claims, who has basically revised a prior similar plan from Sawant). Sawant is an extremist council member who is part of an organization known as Socialist Alternative. The tax is so blatantly targeted at Amazon through its various rules and exemptions, that Sawant herself calls it “the Amazon tax”. The reason the tax may be pushed through now is because Seattle faces a huge budget shortfall after years of fast growing spending. Instead of trimming the fat, their solution is more taxes.

My guess is the council members supporting this hope to invite legal challenge so that an activist judge can rule in their favor despite the state constitution preventing graduated income taxes. My hope is that Amazon just declares all their tech workers remote and moves out of Seattle.

If you’re new to how these socialist organizations think, check out their self-avowed plan to infiltrate BLM early and leverage its cause for their own Marxist ends (https://www.socialistalternative.org/marxism-fight-black-fre...). They have a mentality to implement their ideology at its fullest with no compromise, and that is definitely the case with this proposed tax, given its repeated unpopularity here.

If you’re curious about Kshama Sawant specifically, check out her tweet from July 4th (https://mobile.twitter.com/cmkshama/status/12795239378445557...):

> "I've no respect for the stars & stripes, or any other flag symbolizing slavery. Triumphant socialism will haul down that flag & every other that symbolizes capitalist class rule & wage slavery. I'm a patriot, but in the sense that I love all countries."