What could they possible expect? Surely, they did not believe companies would just pay the taxes, right?
Seattle payroll tax revenues fall short by $47M
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell released his payroll expense tax (PET) report for 2024 Tuesday, and its projections came up nearly $50 million short.
“Today’s announcement that PET revenues collected in 2024 were $47 million lower than projected requires action to ensure our budget remains balanced,” Harrell explained in a statement.
Harrell said that his 2025 budget proposal was based on the projections from the independent Office of Economic and Revenue Forecasts. But since they got it wrong, the mayor said for the 2026 budget, “my office will consider all options, including additional revenue sources and appropriate expense reductions, to ensure we are making the priority investments and funding the essential services that matter to our residents.”
Did the payroll expense tax push jobs out of Seattle?
The payroll tax is levied on large corporations in the city, like Amazon and Expedia. Such a steep revenue forecast error suggests high-paying companies or their jobs are leaving the city.
It’s precisely why KTTH host Jason Rantz called the news “catastrophic” in a thread on X.
“What people haven’t realized yet—but soon will—is that the sharp drop in payroll expense tax revenue means jobs are leaving Seattle,” Rantz explained. “The whole point of the PET was to squeeze ‘free’ money out of businesses because the city arrogantly assumed it held all the cards. But what did PET actually do? It pushed Amazon jobs to Bellevue, kept employees working from home (and out of Seattle), and helped fuel layoffs at companies hit hardest by the tax—like Expedia.”
Jobs are leaving Seattle
Even Harrell acknowledged, “This decrease in revenue is aligned with recent reports of major employers moving thousands of high-paying jobs out of Seattle to other cities in our region.”
And, of course, next they will try to push jobs completely out of the state:
He noted that the Seattle payroll tax idea may go statewide with the budget proposal from Washington Democrats.
What’s next?
Republican State Rep. Chris Corry of Yakima took notice of the payroll woes in Seattle. He posted, “Paging literally everyone in Olympia.”
I just can’t believe they would deliberately kill their geese laying the golden eggs. Hence, I have to believe they really are that stupid. And since they are incapable of learning they are going to double down on their mistake.
