(The Center Square) – A major opponent of a voter-approved social housing payroll tax in Seattle says it’s time to regroup on how to solve the city’s housing crisis.
The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce endorsed proposition 1B in the February special election over the alternative ballot measure, Proposition 1A, which gained enough signatures to be placed on the ballot.
Both measures would pay for the city’s Social Housing Developer, which works to create housing that is removed from market speculation, publicly owned and funded, and available to people without income restrictions.
Proposition 1A creates a 5% tax on annual compensation above $1 million paid in Seattle to any employee and would provide more than $50 million per year to the new public development authority.
Proposition 1B – put on the ballot by the Seattle City Council – would allocate about $10 million per year from the city’s JumpStart Payroll Expense Tax. The arrangement would expire after five years.
According to results from King County Elections, 70% of voters are in favor of funding social housing in the city as of tallied votes on Thursday. Nearly 60% of voters approved of Proposition 1A over Proposition 1B.
In an update posted on its website, the Seattle Chamber grouped Proposition 1A with other ballot initiatives that increase minimum wages in Burien, Tukwila, Renton and Everett, as well as a tenant protection initiative in Tacoma, which requires more notice for rent increases, as well as requiring Tacoma landlords to offer relocation assistance if the rent increases more than 5%.
“The conversation around solving the housing crisis is not working,” the Seattle Chamber stated in an update. “It’s time for a total regroup and a reassessment of our organizational partnerships on this topic.”
The Chamber added that it will continue to “bird dog the social housing public development authority” in order to ensure social housing is delivering results as promised to voters.
Prior to the election on Tuesday, the Chamber noted that proposition 1A does not have a sunset or limit.
The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce previously filed a lawsuit against the city’s JumpStart Payroll Tax, which is paid by Seattle businesses with at least $8.5 million in local annual payroll. However, King County Superior Court Judge Mary Roberts upheld the tax in a 2021 decision.
