Seattle faces another attack on its recently passed employee head tax on high-revenue companies. A Washington state senator from Pierce County is now offering a tax credit to lure jobs to rural areas.
Senator Steve O'Ban, R-University Place, is offering up a proposal for a $275 tax credit to companies that create new positions in counties that are struggling with unemployment. The $275 is the same amount Seattle will start charging some 600 businesses for each of their full-time employees next year.
O'Ban's plan would apply only to counties with an unemployment rate that exceeded the statewide unemployment rate by 25 percent in the previous year. The jobs would also have to pay more than the county's average wage to qualify for the credit.
In a statement, O'Ban directly cites Seattle's head tax as the reason for his proposal, calling his plan a "head tax credit."
“Washington shouldn’t lose jobs because our largest city’s tax policy punishes job growth. If employers want to relocate, they should know that other counties are business-friendly and welcoming,” O'Ban said. He also said the costs of housing and living in rural areas are lower, and there is much less traffic and no bridge tolls.
O'Ban says he is preparing the bill for the upcoming legislative session. If passed, it would go into effect in July 2019.
Counties that would be first to benefit from the tax credit include Counties initially affected by the tax credit include Clallam, Cowlitz, Ferry, Franklin, Grant, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Lewis, Mason, Okanogan, Pacific, Pend Oreille, Stevens, Skamania, Wahkiakum and Yakima, according to O'Ban.
Other communities have been eager to pounce on Seattle's head tax in the hope of poaching businesses, including Pierce County and Phoenix, Arizona.
