Left eats left. Update to this story.
Via KOMO:
The “March on Amazon” protest headed by councilmember Kshama Sawant and the Affordable Housing Alliance is underway.
Marchers rallied at at Seattle Central College then began making their way to the Amazon headquarters in South Lake Union.
“We are demanding council to not backslide on $75 million dollar tax. Let’s call Mayor Durkan’s bluff, ” Sawant said before the march began. Mayor Jenny Durkan is pushing for a lower head tax.
According to the march’s Facebook page, the march is intended to protest Amazon’s “corporate extortion of our city.”
Supporters gathered like Sonja Ponath, a former tech employee and small-business owner said large companies “are not paying. All these companies make huge amounts of money.”
But some opponents were there, too. “This is ridiculous,” said Keith Steinke. “They shouldn’t dare Amazon to leave. I wouldn’t want to see the consequences if they do.”
Amazon announced last week their decision to halt all planning on a massive project scheduled for construction in downtown Seattle because of the proposed ‘head tax.’
On Friday, the Seattle City Council voted 5-4 to approve the controversial $500-per-employee head tax on the city’s largest businesses.
The council voted on the proposal as a committee, which means another vote must be taken Monday before the head tax receives final council approval.
The current head tax proposal OK’d by the council would require large corporations operating in Seattle to pay $500 per employee each year to finance homeless programs. The measure would raise an estimated $75 million.
About $20 million of the total would come from Amazon, the city’s largest employer, which opposes the tax and has halted construction on a 17-story office tower as it awaits a tax vote. The company is also rethinking filling office space in another leased building. Alaska Airlines, Expedia and others also came out against the $500-per-head tax.