The major topic of conversation at many Seattle businesses – both large and small – is the Seattle City Council’s proposal for a head tax on large companies. 市政府的提议是，悦博体育通过对年收入超过2000万美元的企业征税，每年为无家可归者和住房服务筹集7500万美元。

作为一家支持住房所有权的公司，悦博体育花费了大量的时间和资源来思考住房负担能力和无家可归问题。 仅在西雅图，温德米尔去年就为这些工作捐赠了46.5万多美元。 悦博体育对该地区如何解决这些问题有一些想法； 然而，人头税不在其中。

In my opinion, and that of the rest of Windermere’s executive leadership team, this is clearly a regressive tax – and bad policy – and it should not be passed by the City Council. 然而，如果该法案获得悦博体育通过，德肯市长应该立即否决，如果她可以选择这样做的话。

以下是悦博体育采取这一立场的理由：

1. 西雅图市议会真的考虑过人头税的潜在后果吗？ We do not believe that the real effects on taxing Seattle’s largest employers have been adequately considered. While the Seattle City Council has convened a “Progressive Revenue Taskforce” to deliberate on the proposed head tax, it has failed to commission any sort of formal study that fully explores the potential consequences. In fact, statements in the media suggest that some council members’ rationale for supporting the head tax is because they have not seen any studies that say it will have negative effects. 但如果没有进行过研究，怎么能得出这样的结论呢？

2. 对收入征税是完全不合适的。 这种税，类似于商业和占用税，是基于收入（总销售额），而不是利润。 想想那些收入超过2000万美元门槛的公司，但他们的实际利润远低于这个数字。 这样的税收可能会给这些公司造成无法弥补的伤害，导致它们完全离开西雅图。 It is also important to understand that different business sectors have very disparate profit margins – some much thinner than others. 例如，零售业特别容易受到这种税的影响，因为它们的利润率通常很低。 它们和其他利润微薄的行业一样，也雇佣低技能工人，这些工人本应从增加的税收中受益。 But if their employer is now being hit by a new head tax, it’s not a stretch to surmise that many of these workers will eventually lose their jobs due to a loss of revenue.

3. 人头税无疑会加剧住房负担能力危机。 纳税人和企业都必须明白，拟议中的员工税在2022年将变成工资税，而且人们普遍认为，工资税对中产阶级来说是一个更沉重的负担，因为它们往往会减少收入。 There are a plethora of academic papers on this topic that should be considered by the Seattle City Council[1].

此外，工资税很可能会加剧西雅图已经存在的住房负担能力危机。 暂不考虑这项税收旨在帮助减少无家可归人口，建议在头两年后从人头税恢复为工资税。 这种税收将降低受影响公司员工的收入。 随着西雅图房价的快速上涨，更多的人可能不得不离开这座城市，以负担得起生活费用。 这真的有助于解决劳动力住房问题吗？

4. 西雅图已经对其企业征收了大量的税收。 说到商业，大家都知道西雅图的税收政策是全国最累退的。 High Business & Occupation taxes, ST-3 property taxes, soda taxes, short-term rental taxes – all hit companies of every size. There are also proposals under discussion for an income tax, luxury real estate tax, and a tax to drive on Seattle streets – not to mention the increase in the minimum wage that has gone into effect. 西雅图的商业目前占城市总预算的近60%。[2] At what point will companies decide that it’s just too expensive to operate here?

5. 西雅图市如何使用目前的资金来解决无家可归问题？ According to data from the City of Seattle[3], funding to address homelessness has already increased by 60 percent from $39 million to more than $63 million over the past four years. Additionally, according to the Greater Seattle Business Association in a 西雅图时报 op-ed, the city’s budget increases have done nothing to address the problem they are spending to solve, as there has been a 37 percent increase in the homeless population during the same period.

随着无家可归者人数的增加，人们不禁怀疑西雅图对现有资金的管理是否到位。 As Starbucks stated in a 2018年5月10日 story in the 西雅图时报, it makes sense to have a plan in place before any additional taxes are imposed. 悦博体育完全同意这一立场。

6. The Seattle City Council claims that large businesses should “Pay their fair share”. 西雅图被认为是美国最慈善的城市之一，大多数企业已经向为无家可归者提供服务的非营利组织慷慨捐款。 For example, it is well known that Amazon donated more than 47,000 square feet of space within one of their buildings to create a permanent home for the Mary’s Place Family Shelter. Along those same lines, more than $6 million has been raised for the “No Child Sleeps Outside” campaign, thanks in large part to Seattle area businesses. 对公司征收的任何额外税收都很可能会减少这种捐赠。

7. Jobs are vital to the health of any city – and Seattle is no exception. 其他城市也征收人头税，值得借鉴。 例如，芝加哥的每位员工的人头税为每月4美元，或每年48美元。 That tax (which represents less than 9 percent of the amount contemplated in Seattle) was decried to be a job killer by Mayor Rahm Emanuel[4]. 请记住，西雅图人头税提案的规模是芝加哥因导致失业而放弃的税收的11倍。

8. 人头税并不是独一无二的，但西雅图提议的税收水平却是独一无二的。 Some cities in Pennsylvania impose employment-based “local services taxes[5]” at rates of $10 to $52 per year. Denver has a $4 per month[6] head tax. 这种税并不常见，而且经常被诽谤为妨害税，但它们并非史无前例。 前所未有的是，西雅图公司向每位员工每月征收约42美元的税。

Seattle’s proposed head tax would make it costlier to employ new or lower-skilled employees, potentially nudging employers further in the direction of automation, or into hiring a smaller number of higher-compensated employees to do work that might otherwise have been distributed among lower-skilled, lower-wage employees.

Let’s be clear, this is not just a tax on Amazon although, given their size, they are certainly central to both sides of the argument as they will be contributing roughly one third of the annual tax. 真正的问题是，悦博体育真的希望企业从西雅图迁往其他城市吗？ 最终，我认为，拟议中的税收会激励企业裁员，减缓或停止拟议中的增长（想想亚马逊），或者完全离开这座城市，搬到贝尔维尤或柯克兰等对商业更友好的地方。

西雅图市在过去的几十年里发展迅速，没有人会说这种增长带来了一系列独特的问题。 也就是说，实施累退税是一项幼稚而糟糕的政策，可以说，它对解决该市面临的问题毫无帮助。 A scattergun policy of “shoot-aim-ready” is not a solution.

总之，无家可归和住房负担能力当然是需要解决的大问题； 然而，悦博体育认为这些问题应该在地区层面上解决，而不是简单地向西雅图的企业增加税收，这些企业几乎完全负责悦博体育城市的经济活力。

总部位于西雅图的温德米尔房地产公司是西雅图最大的房地产公司，在城市范围内有20个办事处。 去年，这些办事处总共向向低收入和无家可归家庭提供服务的组织捐赠了46.5万美元。