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head tax

Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant, long a thorn in Amazon’s side, won’t seek re-election

Councilmember Kshama Sawant, who took on Amazon and others over the years in an effort to tax big businesses, will… Read More

Exit interview: Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan on the pandemic, Amazon, and fighting the city council

To suggest that Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan had a pressurized run as the Emerald City’s top elected official is to… Read More

Emboldened by election day victory, new Seattle City Council launches next challenge to Amazon

Just two weeks into 2020, the new Seattle City Council is already making good on its promise to take on… Read More

Amazon gives $1M to group seeking to upend Seattle City Council in upcoming election

Amazon is dramatically increasing its financial commitment to reshape politics in its hometown, in a move that signals a big… Read More

Amazon quietly works to reshape politics in its hometown after going to battle with Seattle officials

For the first two decades of its life, Amazon avoided the political limelight. But over the past year, the Seattle… Read More

Spheres opening

Top GeekWire stories of 2018: Amazon HQ2, Paul Allen, Seattle’s boom, equality financing, and more

It was another big year for tech, in Seattle and around the world. Amazon dominated headlines, this time with a… Read More

Year in pictures: Amazon’s amazing growth, SpaceX blasts off, the passing of Paul Allen and more

2018 was a year of acronyms. We witnessed an overhyped search for HQ2, a flurry of IPOs and the passing… Read More

Why San Francisco’s big business tax for homeless relief succeeded after Seattle’s crumbled

Two tech hubs, two crises of homelessness, two taxes on big business, two very different outcomes. San Francisco voters on… Read More

Will San Francisco’s business tax for homeless relief succeed where Seattle’s failed? This tech billionaire is fighting for it

Imagine if rather than threatening to slow down operations in Seattle when faced with a tax on big business, Amazon… Read More

#SeaHomeless Q&A: GeekWire and The Evergrey want to hear your questions about Seattle homelessness

We’re half-way through 2018 and so far in Seattle, the year has been defined by a fierce debate over how… Read More

Seattle businesses rejected tax as ‘wrong approach’ to homeless crisis — now what will they do?

The dramatic defeat of a new business tax designed to alleviate Seattle’s dire homelessness crisis was seen as a victory… Read More

Bezos and Boyle

Jeff Bezos teases two new philanthropic causes — and promises the big reveal this summer

After a year of deliberation and thought, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced plans to back two philanthropic initiatives, potentially signaling… Read More

TLDR: Seattle repeals ‘Amazon Tax,’ AT&T and Time Warner deal approved, the biggest games at E3

[Editor’s Note: TLDR is GeekWire’s tech news rundown show, hosted by Starla Sampaco. Watch today’s update above, subscribe to GeekWire on YouTube, check… Read More

Amazon says Seattle head tax repeal ‘is the right decision for the region’s economic prosperity’

Whatever bridge existed between Amazon and Seattle government has been slowly burning for weeks as the debate over a new… Read More

Seattle repeals head tax 7-2 in dramatic reversal that leaves city divided over homeless crisis

Seattle’s new per-employee tax on large businesses to fund affordable housing is officially dead, bringing an end to one of… Read More

Live: Watch the raucous debate as Seattle City Council considers repealing new head tax

Update: The council voted 7-2 to repeal the head tax. Read GeekWire’s full story here. Another heated debate is taking place… Read More

Petition to overturn Seattle head tax gets more than twice the signatures needed, as city prepares to repeal polarizing law

Monday afternoon, as organizers prepared to submit a petition for a ballot initiative to overturn Seattle’s new head tax with… Read More

Seattle Council president on sudden head tax reversal: Why the city decided to hit ‘the reset button’

Seattle plans to vote on legislation that would repeal the city’s new head tax Tuesday, less than a month after… Read More

Seattle considers repealing controversial head tax as referendum campaign picks up steam

Seattle City Council President Bruce Harrell has scheduled a special meeting Tuesday to consider repealing the so-called “head tax,” which… Read More

Head tax is a ‘redefining moment’ for Seattle and start of a larger discussion, councilmember says

Debate over Seattle’s controversial “head tax” often focuses on what the city is or isn’t doing about a surging homelessness problem… Read More

Redfin CEO challenges Seattle to avoid SF’s pitfalls: ‘If we think we’re smarter than everyone else we should figure it out’

Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman paints a dystopian picture of San Francisco, where he lived for years before fleeing to Seattle.… Read More

In cities competing for Amazon HQ2, reaction to tech giant’s Seattle tax battle is all over the map

Three days after the Seattle City Council passed a head tax on large businesses, the editorial board of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,… Read More

New sign of the times? Imagining a modern version of Seattle’s iconic ‘turn out the lights’ billboard

It was fascinating to read that the creators of the “Will the last person leaving Seattle turn out the lights” billboard are… Read More

Thirsty for Seattle businesses, Phoenix uses head tax as recruiting tool

Phoenix is coming on strong. The Arizona city’s office of economic development has been hitting up Seattle companies with the… Read More

Controversial Seattle ‘head tax’ may head south: Silicon Valley cities weigh tax on tech giants

Seattle is an innovator in a lot of things — from speciality coffee to cloud computing to commercial spacecraft. Could… Read More

Here’s how much Amazon, Starbucks and Vulcan donated to campaign to repeal Seattle head tax

Amazon and Starbucks have donated $25,000 each to a referendum campaign on Seattle’s divisive new head tax, according to disclosure… Read More

A serious slap at Seattle: Pierce County plans $275 tax incentive for companies, taking aim at its Northwest neighbor

Pierce County on Tuesday plans to introduce a new tax incentive program for employers looking to bring jobs to the… Read More

A ‘punch in the gut’: Fast-growing Seattle startup eyes Bellevue after head tax vote

Seattle-based sales automation startup Outreach announced a new $65 million funding round Monday — but its CEO, Manny Medina, also had… Read More

Tacoma courts Seattle tech companies and other businesses with ‘No Head Tax Here’ pitch

The city of Tacoma, Wash., has long envied the big concentration of tech companies to the north, and Seattle’s head… Read More

Business coalition launching ‘No Tax on Jobs’ campaign to overturn Seattle’s contentious new head tax

A business coalition launched a campaign Friday to reject Seattle’s new “head tax,” a polarizing piece of legislation signed into… Read More

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