Seattle announced June 11 that it would consider repealing its controversial head tax legislation, which attracted the ire of businesses in the city, including Amazon.com Inc. and Starbucks Corp.
"We heard you," Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and other members of the City Council were quoted as saying in a statement.
They said they would move forward this week to consider repeal of the legislation. The head tax law, which was passed May 14, is designed to address homelessness in Seattle by charging approximately 585 of the city's largest companies a tax of $275 per full-time employee each year.
"It is clear that the ordinance will lead to a prolonged, expensive political fight over the next five months that will do nothing to tackle our urgent housing and homelessness crisis," members of the councilors said.
Seattle City Council did not give an alternative funding plan to tackle the issue of homelessness, the Associated Press reported June 12. A special council meeting will be held Tuesday where members are expected to vote on repeal, AP added.
However, Councilwoman Teresa Mosqueda was quoted as saying that she would not support the move unless there was an alternative strategy for the city's housing crisis, the report added.
Amazon and Starbucks reportedly had pledged to fund a No Tax on Jobs campaign. Amazon also in May temporarily halted construction of its new tower in Seattle in protest but resumed operations after almost two weeks.
The two companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
John Murray, a spokesman for the No Tax on Jobs campaign, reportedly told AP that the coalition was pleased that the council had heard people's voices over the "ill-conceived tax."
