♪♪
-All right, let's get started here.
I want to thank everyone,
everyone for being here this afternoon.
Thanks to the media for showing this
and our strong advocates for about to talk about.
I have a lot of thanks to give
so I want to start off with thanking the City Council,
and particularly, Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck,
who you will hear from in a minute.
I'm just the opening act, by the way.
I want to thank you for your partnership,
and your vision, and to the coalition partners
that both you've been working with.
And the communities that are here today
who represent small business, labor, our labor partners,
and human service leaders.
So I'm announcing a new proposal to support small businesses
and raise progressive revenue to respond to Trump's threats
and the ideological bullying that we see.
We want to protect essential human services.
We want to continue our housing investments
and our housing strategy.
We want effective city programs.
We spent an inordinate amount of energy,
and resources,
and commitment to stabilize our city coming out of the pandemic.
And we're at a point now
where we are aggressively fighting for the values
that we all believe in every single day.
Now Councilmember Rinck will call it
the Seattle Shield Initiative.
I'm just going to roll off my tongue pretty quickly
when I keep saying the Seattle City Initiative.
We also sometimes refer it as the -- to -- as the 9090 Plan.
Now why would I say that?
Because this is an effort to reduce taxes on 90%
of businesses and raise $90 million for our city.
Now those who represent small businesses like Ollie Garrett,
who you'll hear from in a minute,
we recognize that small businesses are the life blood
of our communities.
They create jobs.
They make our neighborhoods special.
And many of them face significant challenges.
They often hire people
that may not get hired at some of the other companies.
They are sort of, again, as I refer to as our --
when we say our life blood,
just keeping everything going in the right direction
in our communities.
B&O tax relief is something we've heard directly from small
and medium business leaders
that it would truly make a difference in
how they do business for them and their employees.
Now we have a lot of work
to continue to do to support small businesses.
We recognize that from public safety issues
as we hire more officers in unprecedented numbers.
To building out our CARE department
that you know our doing just incredible work.
To streamlining the permitting process
that you've heard from very recently in some of our efforts.
Providing technical support to our businesses.
All of the things we're doing to make sure
that we support our small businesses.
We'll also soon advance additional recommendations
small businesses have shared with us
like an expanded back-to-business effort
to assist small businesses that have been victims of crime.
So let me briefly talk about the mechanics of the proposal
because this is good policy.
And I, again, I want to thank my deputy mayors,
and my executive team, and the Council, and again,
the councilmember for just being forward
thinking in this approach.
Our proposal will raise the B&O tax threshold
from $100,000 in gross receipts to $2 million,
exempting about 16,500 small and medium-sized
businesses from the city's B&O tax.
This plan would create a new B&O tax deduction of $2 million,
allowing all businesses that pay the B&O tax
to only pay on gross receipts of about $2 million.
Now with this in place,
90% of the current taxpayers would pay less in 2026
than they do today or not pay at all.
In order to pay for the raised exemption and new deductions
and to raise $90 million to protect essential services,
this proposal will increase the B&O rate.
In 2026,
the rate would change from 22 cents per $100
of taxable research to 34 cents per $100 of taxable receipts.
This is for retail, wholesale, and manufacturing companies.
It changes from 43 cents per $100 to 65 cents per $100
for service companies.
So, you know,
I think it's important to put in the context of the rate
is changing by cents, C-E-N-T-S,
cents on each $100 a business makes.
Now we recognize that there are a diversity
of businesses in Seattle
and many of them will be affected differently
and may feel differently.
And this is why we will continue to work
under a direction from our office
on evaluating Seattle's business climate.
We try to send this signal to all businesses
that we are open for business.
Why? Because we want to employ people.
We want jobs.
You look at everything we do, we try to support job creation.
And a review of our tax system and our fees,
our regulation, our permitting, and we will look at this.
We will evaluate Seattle's business climate
in the context of other business climates
in neighboring jurisdictions, and indeed, in the state.
So altogether, this proposal will raise,
as I said earlier, about $90 million.
Putting Seattle in the best position
to prepare for Trump's continued economic chaos and threats
to allow the city to provide essential services
and maintain critical housing investments for our residents.
We hear about the price of housing
in every conversation that we have.
Quite candidly, I've lost track of the times
Trump has issued a letter, or a tweet,
or an executive order, threatening our federal funding.
I did an interview this morning on this issue going over
on a granular level the amount of funding that is at stake.
And quite frankly,
the legal remedies
that we've had to pursue through the court systems
to protect who and what we are.
And Trump's claims that he's threatening our federal funding
because cities don't want to keep people safe
just doesn't make sense.
When some of the funds that he threatens to cut
will address such things as counterterrorism tools
or training and task forces.
And designed to investigate crimes
against children and services for survivors of sexual assault.
We don't understand in what universe cutting
these investments would promote public safety.
It just doesn't make sense and it is bad policy.
I will not mince words there.
So this proposal makes it a priority to protect
investments in critical human services like housing,
vouchers, and shelter, and food, and nutrition.
Access services for survivors of gender-based violence and more.
We can't let these critical,
crucial services lapse because Trump withholds federal funds
or because his tariffs and economic chaos
drive revenues down.
We believe this is a balanced approach to take on Trump,
support small businesses,
and put Seattle in the best position
to protect everyone and to support our residents.
Okay, so that is my opening statement.
I'm going to stick by it, Councilmember.
And again, as I introduce you to Councilmember Rinck,
I want to say again,
you've been a thoughtful partner in this effort.
A real leader in standing up for Seattle's values
in your first year as a councilmember.
You outshine me when I was in my first year,
so congratulations and thanks for putting together such a,
again, a coalition, and we're very proud to stand with you.
And I'll -- I think I have another councilmember here.
I want to recognize Councilmember
Saka for being here.
You're just eye candy, today, so just so you know.
Okay.
But again, thank all of you, and Councilmember Rinck,
the show is all yours.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Thank you for that kind introduction,
Mayor Harrell, and good afternoon, everybody.
-Whoo! Good afternoon. -Thank you.
We have a lot to be excited about this afternoon.
And my name is Alexis Mercedes Rinck
and I am proud to stand here
behind a very powerful coalition,
a coalition you see up here.
But I also want to invite -- I know we have more folks
in our coalition that are around the room.
Can I invite you all to come up?
I want folks to see how powerful we are together.
I know we've had some more folks join us.
I want to invite folks up.
This is a powerful coalition across from our labor champions,
from our small business advocates,
from our essential service providers
who are taking care of our community, at this time.
And I'm proud to stand alongside Mayor Harrell
to announce the Seattle Shield Initiative,
legislation that will give Seattle voters the power
to define what kind of city we want to be.
And today, we are facing a defining moment for Seattle.
While federal cuts threaten the services
our working families and most vulnerable neighbors depend on,
we have a choice.
We can either stand by and watch essential programs disappear
or we can give Seattle voters the power
to protect what matters most.
The Seattle Shield Initiative exists
because we have found common ground.
Everyone here today can agree
that Seattle's success should lift everyone up,
not just those at the top.
When I was waiting tables in Queen Anne,
barely scraping by, unfortunately,
the small business owners I was working for,
they were struggling, too.
They weren't getting rich.
They were just trying to survive
and keep the doors open just like their employees.
So when elected officials talk about supporting small business,
this is what real support looks like.
Seattle Shield will cut taxes for 76%
of businesses currently paying B&O tax.
These are the coffee shops
where they get your oat milk latte just right.
These are the family-owned restaurants
that know you want three stars on your pad Thai.
These are the libraries
that have the cute little staff recommendations
on what you should read next.
These are the bike shops
that know exactly what always seems to be wrong
with your bike brakes.
Here's what I want people to understand.
The programs we're protecting with this initiative,
they work, and they change lives, and we need them now.
The $90 million generated annually will protect services
that keep families fed, housed, and safe.
As the Trump regime cuts federal funding for food banks,
emergency shelter, and housing programs.
Local investment becomes the difference
between maintaining these lifelines
and watching them disappear.
And Seattle Shield represents both the city's
response to a local budget crisis
and federal abandonment of working families.
And, for example,
as federal workplace protections are rolled back,
the Seattle's Office of Labor Standards
becomes more critical than ever.
And this initiative ensures we can continue fighting
wage theft, and protecting collective bargaining rights,
and maintaining the labor standards
that make Seattle a place where work pays.
And we're not asking everyday taxpayers
to unfairly shoulder this burden.
We're asking the largest corporations
to pay their fair share
while actually reducing taxes for small and medium businesses.
And we're asking them to contribute to the community
that made their success possible.
For the infrastructure they use to the workforce
whose labor they rely on
and the working class consumer base who buy their products.
This isn't punishment for individual success.
It's shared community responsibility
that comes with shared success.
And here's what makes this moment special.
We're not imposing this on Seattle.
We're trusting Seattle.
We're asking our neighbors, you decide.
You decide whether Seattle steps up when others step back.
You choose whether we protect each other or abandon each other
and you choose what kind of city we want to be.
And I've seen Seattle voters do this time and time,
again, when we have the clear choice
between our values and our fears.
And time and time, again, this city chooses hope.
Time and time, again, this city chooses each other.
So I'm asking my colleagues on Seattle City Council,
put this to the ballot.
Trust our neighbors will make the right choice.
The stakes are too high, the choice is too important
to let this moment pass without action.
And I'm asking Seattle voters to remember who we are.
We're the city that led the nation to a $15 minimum wage.
-Whoo! -That's right.
We're the city that passed paid sick leave,
that invests in affordable housing,
that said every worker deserves dignity.
We're a city that doesn't abandon people
when times get tough.
That's the Seattle I'm fighting for
and that's the Seattle I know we can build together.
So let's shield affordable housing.
So let's shield workers' rights.
So let's shield services serving survivors
of gender-based violence. Let's shield are -- pardon me.
Let's shield are food access.
So let's shield Seattle together.
Thank you. -Whoo!
[ Cheers and applause ]
-We're fired up now. -Good.
-We're going to see with our friends in the media here
whether they're going to call this the Seattle Shield Law
or the 9090 Plan, Seattle Shield Initiative or the 9090 Plan.
Next, we're going to hear from Ollie Garrett,
the president and CEO of Tabor 100,
which is an organization, a consortium,
if you will,
supporting women-owned and minority-owned businesses.
They've just been doing outstanding work,
strategic planning human resource issues,
access to funding.
She's been a leader in this space.
Ollie Garrett, please share some words with us.
-Thank you.
-Yeah! -Thank you.
On behalf of Tabor 100 and the more than 500 businesses
we support, I want to thank you,
Mayor Harrell and Councilman Alexis Rinck,
for their leadership on putting forth this --
for putting forward this bold proposal.
Small businesses are the backbone of Seattle economy
and vital to building generational wealth
in our community,
especially for Black-owned business
and other entrepreneurs of color.
Tabor 100 serve that community.
By raising the B&O threshold to two million
and providing tax relief for approximately 90%
of businesses currently paying the taxes.
This proposal is a meaningful step toward creating more equity
and competitive environment for small and medium-sized business
to grow and thrive.
Importantly, this reduction will also encourage
new businesses to create -- to be created,
providing more opportunities
and economic mobility for residents across Seattle.
At the same time,
this approach responsibly protects critical investments
in human --
in housing, human services, and economic stability.
At a time when threats to federal funding
and economic uncertainty continue to impact our city.
Tabor 100 applauds the mayor for recognizing
that a thriving, small business community
and strong city services go hand in hand.
We look forward to working with city leaders
to ensure this proposal delivers real relief,
foster new businesses creations,
and expand opportunities for all Seattle small businesses.
Thank you.
-Thank you, Ollie. Thank you, Ollie.
And I want to recognize Representative Brianna Thomas
here today standing with us.
I don't know what capacity you're standing in today
but I'm going to recognize you either way.
Our next speaker I can't say enough about.
Just here, let me -- I can't say enough about her
because I don't have my notes.
I'm just joking, Marcia.
Marcia Wright-Soika is
the executive director of FamilyWorks.
We had a, I think, a delightful meeting, yesterday, as well.
And she's been in the space of food insecurity
supporting families in need.
And I don't think you could find a more capable
and passionate advocate for people
that are experiencing food insecurity and need our help.
So it's our honor to have Marcia Wright-Soika
say a few words, please.
-Whoo! -Good afternoon, everyone.
And thank you so much to Councilmember Rinck and
Mayor Harrell for inviting me to speak on behalf of FamilyWorks.
And the many human service organizations across our city
who work every day to ensure that Seattle is a place
where everyone can thrive. At FamilyWorks,
which focuses on hunger relief and family support,
we meet people at some
of their most sensitive moments in their lives.
When putting food on the table, keeping a roof overhead,
or parenting without a support system,
is really, really challenging.
One of the moms in our programs, Stacy,
told us raising kids is hard and expensive.
It's hard to parent when you're stressed out and you don't know
whether you're going to buy diapers or food.
And she's right.
Most of us are one emergency, one medical bill,
or missed paycheck, away from crisis.
Seattle Shield is an important step
in protecting the social safety net
that so many Seattle families rely on.
Especially now as deep federal cuts threaten programs
that were already stretched thin by rising need in our community.
And it's a step we need.
We need it to ensure that moms like Stacy
can still turn to local organizations
to meet their most basic needs.
Without this kind of protective local investment,
people will be pushed into crisis.
There are 200,000 of our neighbors
who are currently relying on food assistance and SNAP
at a time when Congress is considering halving the program.
Food banks will not have enough food
to meet rising demand because of harmful federal actions.
Shelters that are already full will struggle to stay open.
And while nearly a quarter of Seattle residents
are burdened by rent,
waitlists for affordable housing will grow.
More of our neighbors will be forced
into impossible choices between medical bills, food, and rent.
So this proposal isn't just about preventing harm.
It's also about creating good.
And you've heard from some of our small business leaders
and you'll hear from them later today.
It will help workers and businesses,
ensuring our neighborhoods remain rooted and resilient.
So now is not the time to throw up our hands
and say that there's nothing
that we can do in response to federal actions.
There is something we can do
and that's choosing to invest in each other.
We need Seattle to be a place
where kids go to school with full stomachs,
where seniors do not have to choose between their medicine
and electric bills.
And where all of us can count on having our basic needs met.
And as our client, Stacy,
at FamilyWorks shared, we need kids to feel safe, and secure,
and not be hungry or worry about the things
that should be basic needs.
Because she's able to get support at places
like FamilyWorks when she needs it most,
she can now focus on what every parent wants which is for the --
her kids to thrive.
So this initiative is a really vital step
toward protecting the services
that allow people to survive today
and imagine something better for tomorrow.
So thank you so much to Councilmember Rinck and
Mayor Harrell for meeting this moment with clarity,
and urgency, and care.
I'm really grateful for your leadership on behalf
of human services.
Thank you.
-Thank you, Marcia. Thank you, Marcia.
So our next speaker, just by show of hands,
how many has ever tried tofu, just tried it, tried it?
All right, for tofu.
The best tofu -- and I'm sure I want to say this, the best tofu
I've had comes from Tanya Nguyen at ChuMinh Tofu.
I visited there several weeks ago
and I have to tell you it is just outstanding.
But in all seriousness, we want to hear from Tanya.
I believe actually Tanya brought some tofu here
so you don't have to take my word for it.
But Tanya sort of epitomizes what we're trying to do
and the types of businesses we're trying to support.
And she has an excellent product and is a delightful person.
So Tanya, will you please share a few words with us?
[ Cheers and applause ]
-Whoo! -Where's the tofu, by the way?
-Outside. -Okay.
-Thank you so much and good afternoon, Councilmember Rinck,
Mayor Harrell, and everyone here, today.
My name is Tanya Nguyen.
I'm the owner of ChuMinh Tofu & Vegan Deli in Chinatown
at Seattle Chinatown International District
near the 12 and Jackson.
So I'm here today to speak on behalf of small business owners,
especially neighborhood like the CID,
who are facing enormous pressure just to stay open.
We've been hit all side, like the price of the food increases,
rent increases, the high bill utility bill pay,
and the label cost that keep climbing.
So even so we commit to treat our employees
and pay fair with a respect for them,
it getting harder and harder each month try to break even,
let alone the save and grow.
So that make it more difficult with a tax
like business and occupation tax.
Right now, we pay --
we are taxed based on the gross revenue, not profits.
So that mean even we don't -- we barely make it even,
make it like to cover the expenses
or we might even lose money but we still owe taxes.
So for the small business owner like me,
like mine, I feel like a very a burden on our shoulders.
Yeah, on top of that,
the CID facing the unique challenges like graffiti,
vandalism, and public safety concern.
Also, the foot traffic reducing, and gentrification,
and displacement.
So that's very hard but we try to do everything we can,
donating food to unhoused people, our neighbor.
And we're taking care of our elders,
and a piece of our culture, and subbing our community.
So that is why I strongly support this proposal
to raise the B&O tax threshold from 100,000 to $2 million
in revenue, in gross revenue.
If this passes, we can reinvest in our employees,
expand our services, or maybe --
or just maybe we can take a break, yes,
and do something better.
Seattle will not be strong without strong small businesses.
Yes, so because the small businesses are the soul
of our neighborhood and with your support,
we are continue to nourish the city, our city.
Not only with food but with our care, the compassion,
community, and love.
And thank you so much for your time and inviting us here.
Thank you, thank you.
-Thank you, Tanya, and I just want to make it very clear,
she is on 12th and Jackson,
and we visited her and had the best tofu around.
And she is what this is all about
and so thank you very, very much.
Our next speaker is Adam Glickman of SEIU 775.
And many of you know Adam has just been a labor leader
and with the members of SEIU 775.
They see firsthand the challenges
that working families are facing.
So we thought it very appropriate we'd bring one
of the most effective labor leaders here
to share a few words with us.
Adam Glickman, please.
-Whoo! -Thank you, Mayor Harrell.
I'm Adam Glickman, the secretary treasurer at SEIU 775.
We represent about 55,000 long-term care workers
across Washington State, including thousands in Seattle.
Our members, caregivers,
provide essential care and support
to many of the most vulnerable people in our city.
They help seniors and people with disabilities
live in their homes.
They help provide round-the-clock care
in our nursing homes.
They bathe, and feed, and dress, and comfort our elders,
our disabled children and family members.
Yet caregivers struggle to live in this city.
They struggle to find affordable housing.
They struggle to find affordable food and transportation.
Caregivers too often, too often,
caregivers rely on public services.
They rely on affordable housing subsidies.
They rely on food stamps and food banks.
They rely on subsidized childcare and public transit.
They rely on public agencies
to protect them against wage theft and discrimination.
And right now, all of those services,
funding for all of those services, is at risk, right?
It's all at risk
because of the economic chaos of the Trump Administration
and the devastating cuts they are proposing.
So we appreciate,
working families across the city appreciate.
And I'll just note there are a number of other labor leaders
here today from MLK Labor, from Protac, from IBW,
from our key partners at Working Washington,
at Casa Latina, and I'm sure I missed folks.
But we all appreciate Mayor Harrell and Councilmember Rinck
coming forward with this bold,
progressive proposal to raise the revenue
needed to protect services.
The revenue from this proposal is critical
to maintaining the investments that our members
and working families across the city rely on.
Investments in affordable housing.
Investments in food security.
Investments in protecting workers against wage theft.
I also want to note that we appreciate
and I think the broader labor movement appreciates the fact
that this proposal actually reduces taxes
for thousands of small businesses around our city.
I think I've heard a number 90% once or twice.
You know, a year ago,
there were proposals at the City Council
to reduce the minimum wage and our union
and the labor movement broadly stood up
and strongly opposed those changes to minimum wage.
At the same time,
we also recognized and said that,
you know, we recognized the struggles facing
small businesses.
And we asked the mayor to both stand up and protect workers,
and protect the minimum wage, and to find other ways
to support struggling small businesses.
And I know talking for our union,
we really appreciate that the mayor listened to that.
That the mayor stood up and protected the minimum wage.
And that the mayor is now, along with Councilmember Rinck,
really bringing forward a bold proposal to support
and help struggling small businesses
while also supporting their workers and the community.
So I just want to thank the mayor and Councilmember Rinck
for bringing this proposal forward
and want to encourage the Council to take action quickly
and send it to the voters.
Thank you.
-Thank you, Adam. Thank you very much, Adam.
Our last speaker is Eric Chan
who is the owner of Jade Garden Restaurant
in the Chinatown International District.
And Jade Garden is a multigenerational family
restaurant and one of the small businesses
that make the CID a gem of our city.
A point of personal privilege,
he did mention that -- I just met him today,
that he played basketball with my son.
And I said, "I thought you looked familiar."
So we're really happy that Eric share a few words.
Eric, please. -Yeah.
-First and foremost,
thank you, Councilmember Rinck and Mayor Harrell here,
for having me here.
A little bit of background history about me and my family.
We own Jade Garden Restaurant in Chinatown ID.
I'm sure some of you guys have been there.
There are a lot of familiar faces in the room.
I see a lot of familiar faces in the room.
Thank you so much. Over the years, thank you.
I think Tanya hit it out of the ballpark
here with what she said about small businesses in the CID.
Something I can touch more about is this.
Employees of our restaurant, they mean everything for us.
I like to always say like our restaurant is
more like a Noah's ark.
We're always sailing the seas. You know, there's hard times,
there's good times, and there's times
where it's calm and it's smooth sailing.
Any kind of relief that we can get goes back into our employees
and they're the backbone of our, you know, restaurant.
You know, there's only so much I can do, my father,
my aunt, and my uncle, my mom, my sister, my wife.
They all work there but there's so much they can do, as well.
So our employees mean everything to us.
So with the small tax breaks, anything, helps us a lot.
To give you an example,
every day to day -- I'm working today, actually.
I see some people, someone came earlier, they saw me working.
Took a few, you know, moments to come out here.
You know, thank you so much, Mayor Harrell.
But, yeah, like you said,
we work a lot and anything
to help us out with breaks is wonderful.
So we'd like to get this passed quickly
and hopefully everyone understands
that small businesses, we thrive down here, the city thrives.
So let's do it.
Thank you, guys.
-Whoo!
-Yeah. -Thank you, Eric.
So you've heard from labor advocates,
small business advocates, people fighting against hunger.
You've heard from the community
and you've heard from an outstanding councilmember
pushing this initiative, known as the Seattle Safety --
what's it called?
Seattle Shield Initiative? Let's call it the 9090 Plan.
-We'll talk about it.
-But in all seriousness,
you know, I always tell aspiring politicians,
or elected leaders, or community-based leaders,
that in this fight, it's a journey.
And you have to laugh along the way
to keep your energy going and never lose sight of the people
we're fighting for.
So thank you for standing with us together
building our One Seattle effort.
And with that, Jamie can I ask you to come up here.
We'll take a few questions.
There might be some questions
and I'll ask our director of communications
to help me navigate the questions.
-Yeah.
We'll go to Chris and then Erica.
-Mayor, the Downtown Seattle Association
has been an ally of yours for several years now
and they've already released a statement about this proposal.
Using their words,
not mine, they call this attacks on downtown revitalization,
a self-inflicted wound for the city, and a boneheaded idea.
How do you respond to the claim that this is a boneheaded idea
and that you're gonna see more large employers [indistinct]
-Yeah.
So we think it's good policy and we think --
we would just disagree.
But I -- as I've said repeatedly in 16 years of office,
that one reason
why I want a healthy business environment
for large businesses,
small businesses, and everything in between,
is because they employ people.
But they have a corporate social responsibility value
that I have to see as an elected leader.
We're not trying to run businesses out of Seattle.
We are open for businesses.
And so we look at dealing with a $250 million deficit.
We don't want people to be hungry.
We want people to be sheltered.
That this is good policy.
The fact is, is that the state legislature only gives
us so many tools.
That is just a fact.
And this is a tool
we think along the lines of progressive revenue
that is the smart policy to adopt.
Now what we will do, as I said in my remarks,
is that we will continue to look at through a directive
what the business climate is in terms of
how much taxes one pays, what the lease amounts are.
And I want to, again, thank the Council today
for I think proving one of the beneficial items of technology
that DSA will use in the revenue-producing
wayfinder objects.
I can't remember the name of it, right, the kiosk.
-IKE.
-IKE is the name of the vendor, I believe.
So we'll do everything possible
to continue to have a healthy business environment
but we stand behind this policy and we think it's good policy.
And again, Councilmember,
if you want to chime in at all, feel free to.
-Erica?
-Very short question, substantive question.
Is it 76% or is it 90%?
Because I've heard two different numbers.
-I'll take that.
Seventy-six percent will be covered under the exemption,
so $2 million or less in gross revenue -- gross receipts.
So they will pay no B&O.
Ninety percent of businesses,
which includes that 76%, 90% of businesses,
should this proposal pass,
will pay fewer taxes, you know, in 2026 than they pay right now.
-Got it, okay.
And then the substantive question is, you know,
as Tanya was alluding, a lot of businesses have low margins.
Including some that might have higher gross revenues
like grocery stores, like larger restaurants.
Are you concerned about the potential impact
to those businesses and the fact
that they potentially can pass those costs on to consumers?
-Yes, we are concerned about that,
and that's why in my remarks,
I said that, you know,
businesses will respond differently
depending on margins, depending on the model of the business.
And so one of the,
again, the directives I tried to state in my remarks
is that we'll take a good look at all across the sectors.
We do realize, again,
not all margins are created equal in business opportunities.
This is a tax on gross revenues,
as Tanya so eloquently put it. So we are concerned about that
and will continue to look at that.
-Do you know -- Do you know
how many businesses are not going to be spared
from this tax increase?
The number? -You want me to take that?
-Yeah, please.
You want to just stand -- can you hear him?
Okay.
-Yeah, so under -- I'll talk through it in the percents.
The 76% represent -- sorry.
There are currently about 21,000 businesses
that pay the B&O in the city of Seattle.
About 16,500 will be exempted
if the threshold is moved up to two million.
That leaves about 5,000 businesses.
Of that, about 55% will pay lower taxes than they do now,
leaving 44 or 45%, about 2,000, 2,300 businesses,
that will have a higher B&O obligation.
-And can you talk about like the character
of those businesses?
Are they grocery stores? Are they Amazon?
What are we talking?
-It's a really wide diversity of businesses.
I mean, it's, one,
it's difficult to pigeonhole one particular kind of business.
It really ranges.
So I wouldn't be able to speak to that.
I could say more broadly that -- -- there's really,
based on the privacy laws that we have in the state
and in the city,
we're unable to look at each exact business
what their gross revenues are and what they pay in B&O.
So it's hard to speak to that.
That's why I think it's been important
and the councilmember and the mayor have been doing this
and working with small businesses
and with larger employers.
Talking to them to understand what this impact will be.
And for many of them,
they have to run those numbers themselves to understand
how large an impact this may be.
-Okay.
-Amy, yeah. -Thanks.
So you're seeing this as a shield from threats
from the Trump Administration.
Another threat from the Trump Administration
is cuts to healthcare,
including Medicaid and also people
who are eligible for Obamacare.
District 2 candidate Eddie Lin has suggested
that we raise the jumpstart tax rate in order
to help pay for some of the healthcare
that if our residents might be losing if these cuts go through.
Is that something that you considered, Mayor Harrell,
or do you have other plans in mind to deal with those?
-So you may recall
that I commissioned a Progressive Revenue Task Force
and we looked at in that particular recommendation
nine possible methods
by which we could achieve progressive revenue.
And that was one of them.
And so we are not nearly at the point
where we're proposing our budget.
We're announcing this today.
We still have a $250 million issue we're addressing,
so we're not excluding anything or including anything,
so I'm not in a position to talk about this.
But quite honestly, this is the kind of collaboration
that works in city government. You have ideas.
You don't rule out anything prematurely.
You look at the impacts on businesses.
You look at the impacts on people
that are struggling to live in Seattle,
struggling for shelter, and then you come up with a proposal.
So today, I'm not in a position to introduce anything else.
But I will tell you that,
and I have a few deputy mayors in here,
that literally every day we're looking at
revenue options and expense reduction options, as well.
-Okay, David?
-Will the budget that you release
include this as part of it?
Will it assume that this is part of it,
this, you know, tax restructure is part of the budget?
-Yes. Yes, it would.
-And then if I could, well, this is a little broader,
but I wanted to ask you
about the New York City primary last night.
I'm curious if you have thoughts on the results there
and if you think that has any implications
for the environment in Seattle.
-Well, because we're at City Hall
and I'm in my official capacity,
for those that aren't following it,
politically, I don't think --
I don't like comparing Seattle to New York in any stretch.
You did have a person that did this a while that was --
that had to resign from his position because of a scandal,
so I don't want to comment on, you know,
his -- what happened there.
But I do believe that a lesson
that I learned in politics
is you have to listen to what the people want.
You have to talk to people in coffee shops,
at ball parks, at restaurants, on the streets.
And not only listen to them.
You have to put in action ideas to meet their needs.
And I've been doing that for 16 years like many of these folks.
We weren't -- we didn't just wake up
and start doing this work.
Before people became electeds or even advocates
they were doing this work.
And when I look at New York politics as an example,
I think people want to see a certain level
of integrity and commitment that goes beyond a simple speech.
That's my takeaway from any political race.
And collaboration. I never punch down on anybody.
I think I've been doing that for 16 years.
I have my hand out for folks because we need help.
So the takeaway for me is that a city to be optimized,
you have to be collaborative,
and you have to know when to ask for help,
and when to implement smart policy as we're doing today.
And that's why I'm very proud to stand
with two councilmembers advancing this idea.
-We'll go here.
-Some of the city's largest employers, Amazon,
for lack of a better example,
have been laying off people by the thousands.
Do you worry about the impact on the job market with this?
-Yes. I always worry about that.
What I said --
I tried to say in my remarks
is that I want Seattle to be known for having
a healthy business climate.
Tax policy is part of that but so is our comp plan.
So is our education policy.
This week, I announced our education FEPP levy.
Every child needs to succeed.
Every child gets a great start. All of these policies
that we're pushing as a means to achieve an optimal city
in every way,
and that includes a healthy environment for big businesses.
That's why I said that we will continue to look at this
in terms of making sure this is a great place to do business in.
I don't know if I said it in this particular speech,
but, you know, Seattle continues to attract talent.
We're the fourth fastest-growing city in the country.
It's because people still want to come live here,
work here, indeed play here.
So, yeah, we're always concerned about that
and we calibrated that into our package.
-Mayor, King 5 reporter Alex McLoon.
I'm new to the city.
-Hey, Alex.
-Could you talk about the public outreach effort?
-So Councilmember, I'll let you take a stab at it.
I'll just say a few words that, number one, this continues.
This doesn't stop.
I mean, part of the process
when it hits the Council is that we continue to do outreach.
We've been addressing this budget issue
for quite some time.
We didn't just start it last week.
So we've been looking at all kinds of solutions,
all kinds of outreach, and you could always do more,
but maybe, Councilmember,
you could talk a little bit about the outreach.
-Certainly.
As was stated, this --
the budget challenges have not -- are not a new issue.
And certainly my office,
as soon as we took office just a couple of months ago,
if you can believe it, we hit the ground running.
Really evaluating what are options before us
that could really address this challenge.
And so doing deep engagement with some
of our service providers, many of whom are here today,
doing engagement across the city.
Understanding also through the work
that we're doing with
the Select Committee on Federal Administration and Policy Change
evaluating where are we hardest hit.
And trying to shape a proposal that reflects areas
where we are hardest hit, at this time,
but engaging with many of the folks in this room
and across the city.
This proposal has been refined in light of that feedback
where we can really hone in on areas
that are being the hardest hit.
And making sure we're also putting
forward a meaningful proposal
that addresses the needs of small businesses, at this time.
-Okay, I think we've got time for one more question.
I know I'm trying to get everybody,
so Joshua, I don't know, did you have anything?
-My question was answered.
-Okay, then Erica, you get one last one.
-I wanted to ask about the potential public safety tax
that's coming down.
The city has the authority to do a one-cent or --
a one-cent public safety tax.
Is that happening soon and can you talk about that tax
which is very regressive
and would not be progressive like the other tax?
-Yeah.
It sort of was couched in my other question to David.
That is that it's being considered.
It's on the table for discussion
but because we understand the regressive nature of it,
we are treading very carefully.
Again, we are -- this is one component of
how we're addressing our deficit and Trump-proofing
our Seattle for potential federal cuts.
But we are in discussions, Erica.
That's all I can really say, at this point.
-All right? I think we're good.
-Okay, I'll close us out with this, two words.
Thank you.
Thank you very much for fighting the fight.
We haven't won anything, yet.
We're going to win something here moving forward,
but this is good policy, and it's the right thing to do,
and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Thank you very much. Everyone have a great day.
[ Applause ]