TACOMA, Wash. — In response to the Seattle City Council's unanimous passing of the controversial head tax last week, the city of Tacoma is making its "No Head Tax Here" pitch to court tech companies and other big businesses in Seattle.
Before the head tax vote, the CEOs of more than 100 big-companies in Seattle wrote to the City Council to voice their opposition to the head tax.
In a letter posted on the website Medium, they wrote:
"We oppose this approach, because of the message it sends to every business: If you create too many jobs in Seattle, you will be punished.
“We ask the City Council to set aside the misguided 'head tax,' and to engage us in more dialogue."
The letter was signed by the CEOs of Alaska Air, Expedia, Real Networks and Tableau, among others.
Following the City Council's unanimous vote, local businesses began voicing concerns about the prospects of conducting business in Seattle going forward.
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“This tax has really forced us to say, ‘I don’t think we’re going to build a new restaurant in the city while it’s in place,'” Saul Spady, the grandson of Dick's Drive-In founder Dick Spady, told KIRO radio's Dori Monson.
Now, the city of Tacoma is looking to attract local companies who might want out of Seattle
In the 30-second video on YouTube, the city of Tacoma says the following in all caps:
"NO HEAD TAX HERE … YOU’LL LIKE TACOMA … YOU’LL LIKE THE SOUTH SOUND … WE WELCOME JOBS … LOWER COST OF LIVING, HIGHER QUALITY OF LIFE … THE SOUTH SOUND IS THE PLACE FOR JOBS … WE’RE HERE FOR YOU.”
Watch the video in full below:
Cox Media Group
