{"id":622808,"date":"2026-06-21T23:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-21T23:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=622808"},"modified":"2026-06-21T23:50:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-21T23:50:00","slug":"downtown-seattle-lost-30000-jobs-since-2020-payroll-tax-report-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=622808","title":{"rendered":"Downtown Seattle Lost 30,000 Jobs Since 2020 Payroll Tax: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

Downtown Seattle Lost 30,000 Jobs Since 2020 Payroll Tax: Report<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Dylan Morgan via The Epoch Times,<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

A new report<\/a> from the Downtown Seattle Association published June 15 stated that downtown Seattle has lost around 30,000 jobs since 2020, when city leaders passed the \u201cJumpStart\u201d business tax, while neighboring Bellevue has become more attractive for businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we have seen in downtown Seattle is not a \u2018jump start,\u2019 but instead, a slowdown,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> the report stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeattle has become a tax outlier in the region, and it\u2019s costing the city jobs and tax revenue, while shifting the property tax burden to residents and small businesses, worsening overall affordability in the city.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The nonprofit membership organization said it conducted an audit comparing the city\u2019s tax environment and business climate with that of Bellevue.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2020, the City Council<\/a> said the \u201cJumpStart Tax,\u201d which currently taxes Seattle businesses that pay more than $9,074,409 on payroll expenses with at least one employee making over $194,452, was to address COVID-19 economic impacts as well as to support existing city services and new affordable housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in the midst of a health and economic crisis that even a strong economy like Seattle may not be able to recover from quickly,\u201d Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda said in 2020. <\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cJumpStart Seattle will … jump start our recovery with a relief plan that centers workers, small businesses and our most vulnerable community members.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The report found the tax costs Seattle businesses between $1,450 and $9,390 per employee.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In 2026, the JumpStart tax is projected to bring in $410 million.<\/p>\n

Bellevue has no such tax.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The report also showed that Seattle property tax compared to property value had increased nearly 48 percent from $3.79 per $1,000 in 2019, to $5.60 in 2026.<\/p>\n

In that same time, Bellevue property tax decreased from $3.72 per $1,000 to $3.12, an approximately 19 percent drop.<\/p>\n

It said that downtown Seattle\u2019s office properties have fallen 48 percent in value<\/strong> between 2020 and 2025, while downtown Bellevue\u2019s had increased 7 percent during that same period.<\/p>\n

It added that Seattle\u2019s Central Business District had an office vacancy rate of 6.7 percent in 2019, which climbed to 32 percent in 2025, while Bellevue\u2019s rose from 2.5 percent to 24 percent in that period.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen comparing business tax burdens and broader tax trends in Seattle and Bellevue, the contrast is clear: Bellevue\u2019s more favorable tax climate has made it increasingly attractive to employers and investment relative to Seattle,\u201d<\/strong><\/em> the report said.<\/p>\n

The Epoch Times reached out to the Seattle City Council but did not receive a response by publication.<\/p>\n

Amazon, which is headquartered in Seattle, has been gradually increasing its footprint in Bellevue, as the company said it became the city\u2019s largest employer<\/a>, growing from 450 employees in 2017 to more than 15,000 this year.<\/p>\n

The company\u2019s footprint expansion in Bellevue has also come with significant investment outside of office space. It committed $100 million to fund<\/a> affordable housing initiatives in Bellevue and $22.6 million for local transportation projects.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nSun, 06\/21\/2026 – 19:50<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Downtown Seattle Lost 30,000 Jobs Since 2020 Payroll Tax: Report Authored by Dylan Morgan via The Epoch Times, A new report from the Downtown Seattle Association published June 15 stated that downtown Seattle has lost around 30,000 jobs since 2020, when city leaders passed the \u201cJumpStart\u201d business tax, while neighboring Bellevue has become more attractive… Continue reading Downtown Seattle Lost 30,000 Jobs Since 2020 Payroll Tax: Report<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":622795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[18,19,10,21,12,11,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-622808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cancel-culture","category-censorship","category-civil-liberties","category-election-integrity","category-equal-justice","category-free-speech","category-religious-freedom","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=622808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/622808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/622795"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=622808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=622808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=622808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}