Less than a month after Seattle City Council unanimously passed what people called “the Amazon tax” or “the head tax,” the council has voted to repeal it, under pressure from the “No Tax on Jobs” campaign.
This tax passed on May 14. It’s June 12. https://t.co/Cad3xtCLaE
— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) June 12, 2018
The AP framed it this way:
BREAKING: Seattle leaders repeal tax on businesses like Amazon, Starbucks after companies fought effort to pay for homeless aid
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 12, 2018
This is really bad phrasing/framing. https://t.co/Odrce3zX6n
— John Buhl (@jbuhl35) June 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/yetdizzle/status/1006663932931526657
https://twitter.com/iamdylancurran/status/1006662815015489536
Gotta love how this tweet frames it as if these companies are fighting against helping the homeless, not that they were specifically targeted for a massive tax hike. https://t.co/16us7bKQDh
— Derek Hunter (@derekahunter) June 12, 2018
Are you casually editorialising again https://t.co/PX4QqmddqM pic.twitter.com/gDRj1WWp2V
— Ben Hayes (@hayesy316) June 12, 2018
Serious questions: Does this tweet reflect some sort of editorial bias? Could it have been written more precisely to report this news event? https://t.co/gpa3D0jRXJ
— Blame Big Government (@BlameBigGovt) June 12, 2018
Man, the AP always outdoes itself when it comes to misleading phrasing of news https://t.co/D2ks53QKj3
— Lawrence Hamtil (@lhamtil) June 12, 2018
The idea, at least, was to force the highest grossing businesses in Seattle, like Amazon and Starbucks, to pay a tax of $275 per full-time employee to aid the homeless and build affordable housing. Seattle does not collect an income tax and was hoping businesses would provide roughly $47 million a year on average for five years, according to CNN.
Reaction was mixed, split between those who thought big businesses like Amazon could afford to cough up a few bucks for housing and those not wanting to chase away businesses with even more taxes.
Their commitment to social justice and equality is truly awe inspiring. https://t.co/i4d2Jr0jDM
— Drew McCoy (@_Drew_McCoy_) June 12, 2018
Scumbags. https://t.co/zyjxR4roZK
— Aoife McLysaght (@aoifemcl) June 12, 2018
Corporations are not our allies. https://t.co/GoxG70THQJ
— Twin Cities DSA ? (@TwinCitiesDSA) June 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/SarahNEmerson/status/1006647999768887297
https://twitter.com/CTetelman/status/1006652812313481216
Corporations are fascists. Anyone who says they are pro-business is just saying they are a fascist. https://t.co/uq0tcRxRse
— Adam Kendall (@TheBoobla) June 12, 2018
So the city chose to kowtow to billionaires rather than take steps to actually help their ciizens. https://t.co/ZPRb5LxHfr
— Justin wants the Nazis gone ????️? (@AJustinBreen) June 12, 2018
@JeffBezos Hi Jeff why are you and your company huge pieces of s**t who protest to paying a minute amount to help the poorest in society? https://t.co/aTTVCJQEZK
— John Stokes (@sonofcarib) June 12, 2018
Heaven forbid the rich be even a tiny bit less rich. Anyway, a whole bunch of homeless people are going to die as a result. Great job everyone. https://t.co/BywWcZU72n
— Spilly (@IAmSpilly) June 12, 2018
https://twitter.com/ReturnofChas/status/1006653052596736001
OK, then. On the other hand …
Good move. That was a huge affront to businesses that keep Seattle alive. https://t.co/KmaRLn0TfH
— Gabriella Hoffman (@Gabby_Hoffman) June 12, 2018
The role of government is to secure individual rights, not to force any individual or business to engage in “charity.” The looters in Seattle pushed the envelope a little too far and were forced to retrench. This time. But they’ll be back. https://t.co/sPvnlIILKY
— Ken Gardner (@KenGardner11) June 12, 2018
Maybe Seattle needs to slow down a bit. Maybe sign up for an econ course. Perhaps a quick read on operant conditioning. Maybe just leave successful employers alone. https://t.co/CwFdJoZQH0
— The Great Depression (@johnasaurus_) June 12, 2018
Smart move by Seattle leaders. Punishing workers by adding a "per employee" tax is bad policy. https://t.co/Z0gbUZaWgG
— Charlie Collins (@CollinsARK) June 12, 2018
Ah. Someone who understands economics must have patiently explained life to the city council. https://t.co/lLQ5vOjjCr
— *it wasn't me* byker (@bykerseven) June 12, 2018
Kshama Sawant tried to get her supporters to disrupt the @SeattleCouncil meeting, so a Seattle #headtax repeal vote couldn't happen. She is a disgrace to democracy. https://t.co/3Qp329ym5L
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) June 12, 2018
Socialists think the couple hundred of them that worked to pass the Seattle head tax is more important than the 45k who signed on to repeal the #headtax.
They don’t know how numbers works: it’s why they’re Socialists.
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) June 12, 2018
Solid burn.
Related:
WTF? The AP sure has a STRANGE way of spinning Ayatollah Khamenei's vows to destroy Israel https://t.co/eK9Rmeqiwa
— Twitchy Team (@TwitchyTeam) June 11, 2018