West Seattle Wednesday: Mayoral candidates @ 34th Dems; kids’ night @ WordsWest; income-tax hearing @ City Hall…

(Bald eagle, photographed by Mark Wangerin)

Highlights of what’s ahead today/tonight:

CAKE LINGERIE MATERNITY PARTY: 11 am-4 pm at the new Junction storefront of Nurturing Expressions (WSB sponsor), come see the new collections Cake Maternity has created for pregnant and breastfeeding women. Discounts and freebies, too. (4727 44th SW)

CITY COUNCIL INCOME-TAX HEARING: Downtown at City Hall, with 4:30 pm signups to speak, 5 pm hearing continuing until everyone’s been heard from:

City Council’s Finance Committee will host a public hearing this evening on the proposal for an income tax on high-income residents, co-sponsored by Councilmembers Lisa Herbold (District 1, West Seattle and South Park) and Kshama Sawant (District 3, Central Seattle). There will be a brief overview presentation of the legislation at the top of the meeting.

The proposal would pursue a more progressive form of taxation, placing a 2 percent tax on joint filers’ income over $500,000 and individual tax filers’ income over $250,000. The estimated $125 million in new annual revenue would allow the City to lower the burden associated with property taxes and other regressive taxes, replace federal funding potentially lost through President Trump’s budget cuts, enhance public services such as housing, education, transit, and create green jobs while meeting the City’s carbon reduction goals.

The council could vote as soon as next month. (601 5th Avenue)

WORDSWEST KIDS’ NIGHT: 6 pm at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor), as previewed here, with authors Sundee T. Frazier and Kazu Kibuishi. (5612 California SW)

JOB-SEARCH WORKSHOP: Free workshop, offered monthly at Delridge Community Center, for ages 16 and up, 6:30-7:45 pm. Please pre-register – our calendar listing explains how. (4501 Delridge Way SW)

MAYORAL FORUM @ 34TH DEMS: 7 pm tonight at The Hall at Fauntleroy, the 34th District Democrats expect at least half a dozen of the mayoral candidates to participate in their forum, which they say might be followed by an endorsement decision. (9131 California SW)

MADISON JAZZ CONCERT: 7 pm, Madison Middle School‘s jazz musicians present their spring concert. (45th SW/SW Spokane)

THE BILLY JOE SHOW: 9 pm at Parliament Tavern, “honky tonk for the soul with Billy Joe Huels of The Dusty 45s, featuring Robin Cady, Kohen Burrill, and guitar legend Rod Cook.” No cover. 21+. (4210 SW Admiral Way)

Brandon June 14, 2017 (11:52 am)

What I see is politicians who have a little too much power and group think. They target those who can put up the least resistance.

Tax soda… who is going to fight for the rights of soda drinkers? Tax the rich…. who is going to fight for the rights of 11,000 people.

All this at a time of RECORD revenues in this city. Two new taxes created just because they can with no spending plan detailed.

Canton June 14, 2017 (8:38 pm)

Absolutely correct. All these politicians do, instead of fixing actual problems, is look at other cities to find new streams of revenue.

56bricks June 14, 2017 (12:22 pm)

As been said before. Tax heroin. There would be more money than they know what to do with but would still find a way to waste it and need much more. I’ve become cynical through experience.

MrsL June 14, 2017 (12:36 pm)

At 4 pm there is a full council special meeting to vote on the use SDOT funds for additional school buses to support a two-tier bus and bell schedule for Seattle schools.

http://seattle.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=553188&GUID=4C1321C4-270D-44B3-94E8-A3DD11A7B1F0&Options=&Search=

WSB June 14, 2017 (1:20 pm)

Yes, thanks, we’re watching that and will report the results. I don’t routinely preview everything the council does so it’s not on this roundup; the income-tax issue is potentially historic, is co-sponsored by our City Councilmember, and is a public hearing, so that kind of broke the mold. – TR

Rusty June 14, 2017 (1:44 pm)

Can someone help me out with the reasoning / justification for the Seattle income tax? I’ve heard that it’s unconstitutional (state), so I’m curious if that’s the case then how they plan to get around that, and why they are proceeding with it…

Thanks –

WSB June 14, 2017 (2:15 pm)

CM Herbold laid out her reasoning here as the process began:

http://herbold.seattle.gov/resolution-on-high-earner-income-tax-spu-sbp-committee-update-west-seattle-bridge-studies-and-speaking-of-bridges-south-parks-green-walls-to-clean-air/
- Rusty June 14, 2017 (2:44 pm)
  
  Thank you – but all Councilmember Herbold says in that release is: “The resolution notes that legal viability will be the primary consideration in making these decisions.”.
  
  So, from my limited understanding, the state supreme court ruled that specifically a ‘progressive’ income tax would be unconstitutional in Culliton v. Chase in 1933, but a ‘flat tax’ would not be. In order to have this hold up in court, they would have to overturn that decision and prove that the are not violating article 7, section 2 (and/or(?) Constitutional Amedment 81). Interesting that just this year an attempt to put an amendment in that would specifically outlaw a ‘state’ income tax (Senate Joint Resolution 8204) failed to go to the ballot by 6 votes.
  
  I’m not aware of any other attempts to do a ‘city’ income tax, seems that would be a much more difficult burden to overcome…

dsa June 14, 2017 (6:21 pm)

I don’t know why the silly council is considering taxing the rich this way. If I can think of one easy way for them to avoid being taxed by it, I am sure there are a dozen others. All it does is serve to piss off those that are providing jobs.

Bradley June 15, 2017 (2:02 pm)

Hilarious! Rich Seattle liberals vote for democrats/socialists to run their city government and then they have to fight them when they try to tax their fortunes.

Sorry, comment time is over.