On May 14th, the Seattle city council voted 9-0 to levy an annual tax of $275 per employee on every business that grosses more than $20 million per year. The new funds will be used to combat homelessness in Seattle, according to the council.
Those who follow politics or economics generally understand that leftist (Democratic/liberal) policies often obstruct human productivity. For those who were not yet aware of this, the Seattle city council is making it abundantly clear that Seattle businesses will be punished for being productive.
One of the benefits that businesses provide for society and for their communities is employment. By hiring individuals in their community, they are paying people money, which allows them to pay for their home, food, car, family, and anything else they desire. The employees often spend that money in their community, and the businesses that receive their money use it to fund their business, pay employees who work in the community, improve the business, and often to give back to the community, simply in the form of charity. Businesses are a good thing, and Amazon is an extremely good business for society and for their community. In addition to providing over 500,000 people with jobs, it provides millions of Americans with great products for the lowest prices and the quickest shipping times. If it weren’t good for the local economy, mayors and governors around the US wouldn’t be begging Amazon to build their 2nd headquarters in their community. But leftists hardly ever admit that businesses are a good thing for society anymore. They do, however, claim that they support increasing the amount of jobs available.
If these politicians want people to have jobs, why did they just levy a $275 annual tax per employee on every business that grosses $20 million or more, affecting 600 businesses in Seattle? This new tax sends a clear message to Seattle residents who are considering creating businesses and entrepreneurs who are considering relocating to Seattle: The government will punish you financially for every Seattle resident you employ.
Federal, state, and local governments (sometimes all three of them) already tax every penny earned by entrepreneurs, in addition to taxing the employer and employee each time a paycheck is signed. Do you really support the increasing radically leftist agenda that punishes productivity in yet another way?
