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Amazon Threatens To Move Jobs Out of Seattle Over New Tax (theguardian.com)
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Amazon has threatened to move jobs out of its hometown of Seattle after the city council introduced a new tax to try to address the homelessness crisis. The world's second-biggest company has warned that the "hostile" tax, which will charge firms $275 per worker a year to fund homelessness outreach services and affordable housing, "forces us to question our growth here."
Amazon, which is Seattle's biggest private sector employer with more than 40,000 staff in the city, had halted construction work on a 17-storey office tower in protest against the tax. Pressure from Amazon and other big employers, including Starbucks and Expedia, had forced councillors to reduce the tax from an initial proposal of $500 per worker. The tax will only effect companies making revenue of more than $20 million-a-year. The tax is expected to raise between $45 million and $49 million a year, of which about $10 million would come from Amazon. The company said it would restart building work on the tower but may sublease another new office block to reduce its tax bill.
Amazon, which is Seattle's biggest private sector employer with more than 40,000 staff in the city, had halted construction work on a 17-storey office tower in protest against the tax. Pressure from Amazon and other big employers, including Starbucks and Expedia, had forced councillors to reduce the tax from an initial proposal of $500 per worker. The tax will only effect companies making revenue of more than $20 million-a-year. The tax is expected to raise between $45 million and $49 million a year, of which about $10 million would come from Amazon. The company said it would restart building work on the tower but may sublease another new office block to reduce its tax bill.
A round of applause for Amazon standing up to government bullying and blackmail.
Read some articles about this and you'll see that the city council has zero gratitude for Amazon and nothing but contempt and an entitlement to Amazon's earnings. Amazon can reasonably expect this tax to double, triple, or go even higher in the future. The best part was when a city council member said Amazon was partially to blame for the homelessness due to their success.
I hope Amazon pulls every job they have out of Seatle and goes to a city that appreciates them.
Plus, really amateur move passing the tax when the new construction is halfway finished. The government pros in Boston or NY would never have made such a mistake.
Poverty? This is caused by unemployment and underemployment in conjunction with high costs of living, both of which I already listed as causal.
Unemployment? Ditto.
Personal crisis? Put on your big girl panties. Life is tough. Life is unfair. Get over it, deal with it, and quit expecting the almighty Hand Of Government to come to your rescue. Christ, if these limp-wristed wimps were all we had to work with back when Seattle was first being settled there would be no Seattle. They'd have been too terrified to head west.
Mental illness? Sure would mean a lot of crazies in Seattle which, come to think of it, may not be far off base given the composition of the city and state governments.
Substance abuse? Sorry, not my problem, nor anyone else's except those who are abusing. Responsibility for your own actions comes along with being an adult. Apparently a lot of grown-up kids in Seattle.
In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us, Make us your slaves, but feed us. - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Homelessness is caused 90% by drug addiction and mental illness. There are many empty shelter beds in Seattle, the homeless often refuse to stay in them. This isn't about simply housing people, these people have mental problems.