Articles about taxes

Airbnb pushes back on new bill that would tax short-term rentals to fund housing in Washington

Opponents rallied at the Washington State Capitol in Olympia on Tuesday to voice their displeasure for a bill being considered… Read More

Washington state’s capital gains tax stands as U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear appeal of law

The U.S. Supreme Court today decided not to hear an appeal of a Washington state Supreme Court ruling from March… Read More

Washington state capital gains tax collects nearly $900M in first year

Washington state’s new capital gains tax collected nearly $900 million in its first year, according to the state’s Department of… Read More

Seattle business leaders want city to suspend JumpStart and B&O tax to revive downtown

In a letter sent earlier this month to Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and his executive leadership team, three organizations invested… Read More

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

IRS delays implementation of tax policy change being fought by marketplace companies

The Internal Revenue Service is delaying by one year the implementation of a tax policy change that was being fought… Read More

Marketplace companies say change in tax policy creates unnecessary burden for online sellers

When Dan Marx helped launch a new startup this summer, he pictured himself having to learn more about bicycles and… Read More

As Amazon booms in California, cities want state to fix ‘tremendous inequity’ in sharing of tax revenue

Some California cities are calling on the state to return to a more equitable method of sharing tax revenue generated… Read More

Opportunity zones are the tax shield tech wanted — but is it living up to expectations?

It’s been more than three years since a concept to encourage high-net worth Americans to invest in economically distressed areas… Read More

Avalara acquires assets from DAVO, which helps small businesses automate sales tax compliance

Seattle-based tax automation company Avalara announced Tuesday that it has acquired assets from DAVO Technologies, a company that helps small… Read More

Why Amazon and Jeff Bezos are backing a corporate tax rate hike

Jeff Bezos surprised some Amazon critics and followers this week by throwing his weight behind a federal corporate tax hike… Read More

Capital gains tax in Washington state: Is it about fairness and funding, or will it drive away startups?

Tech workers, business owners, public policy advocates and private citizens weighed in this week in favor of and against a… Read More

Washington state tech community spars over proposed capital gains tax

Update: The Washington state Senate on Saturday passed SB 5096 by a slim margin, 25-24. The bill now moves to the… Read More

Will Bezos bounce? Amazon CEO’s departure plan sharpens debate over ‘billionaire tax’ in Wash. state

When Jeff Bezos announced plans to step down as Amazon CEO later this year, critics of a plan to tax… Read More

Seattle’s newest billionaire says tax talk will drive business away, claims Seattle freeze is ‘garbage’

Tanium co-founder and CEO Orion Hindawi may not be as well known as Jeff Bezos, Steve Ballmer, Bill Gates or… Read More

Washington state lawmakers target Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and other billionaires with wealth tax

A new proposed wealth tax in Washington state would impose a 1% tax on billionaires, affecting Seattle-area tech and business… Read More

Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce sues city over ‘illegal’ payroll tax on big businesses

Fighting back against what it calls a “headwind to Seattle’s economic recovery,” the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce filed a lawsuit… Read More

Seattle business leaders ask city to reconsider tax after Amazon polls employees about relocation

The Downtown Seattle Association is asking the Seattle City Council to reconsider a new payroll tax following a news report… Read More

Seattle adopts spending plan for new payroll tax on big business

A new tax on Seattle’s highest-paying businesses will fund a variety of pandemic-related relief programs for renters, immigrants, refugees, and… Read More

Seattle passes big business tax on salaries of top earners after years of false starts

Seattle’s years-long effort to tax the wealth generated by tech and other lucrative industries crossed a new milestone Monday. The… Read More

Seattle City Council tables proposed ‘Amazon Tax’ to comply with open meeting rules under shutdown

A proposal to tax Seattle’s largest corporations — including Amazon, Expedia, and other tech companies — will be tabled while… Read More

Seattle tech industry fights proposed ‘Amazon Tax,’ claiming it will delay recovery and cost jobs

Hundreds of business and community leaders are asking Seattle officials to reject a new payroll tax on the city’s highest-paying… Read More

‘Tax Amazon’ protest draws 400 to company’s HQ in dispute over plan to address homelessness crisis

Protestors descended on Amazon’s headquarters Sunday in a fight to preserve the taxing authority of Seattle and other cities in… Read More

Elizabeth Warren takes aim at Amazon’s taxes again during speech at Seattle rally

Sen. Elizabeth Warren called out Amazon in its own backyard at a rally in Seattle on Saturday evening. The Democratic… Read More

Seattle’s socialist City Councilmember introduces new ‘Amazon tax’ to raise $300M/year for affordable public housing

Amazon’s tax bill has become a lightning rod in a nationwide debate over economic inequity and Seattle is on the… Read More

Officials in Seattle and Washington state clash over business tax to address homelessness crisis

Officials in Seattle and Washington state are wrestling over a proposed tax on companies like Amazon and Microsoft that would… Read More

Amazon reveals new details about its federal tax bill in shot across the bow at critics

Amazon disclosed new details about its U.S. taxes for 2019 in public financial documents and a blog post Friday morning,… Read More

Does Amazon pay enough in taxes? Source says local tax bill was $297M last year

Amazon paid nearly $300 million in state and local taxes in 2018, according to a source inside the company with… Read More

Bill Gates rings in 2020 with a call for higher taxes on the rich to help address wealth gap

Bill Gates weighed in on the subject of taxes at various times throughout 2019. Should he be paying more? How… Read More

Amazon passes French digital tax on to sellers as Trump admin investigates toll on tech industry

Amazon is raising the fees it charges third-party sellers in France by 3 percent in direct response to the country’s… Read More