Group launches bid to repeal Seattle’s new tax on companies

SEATTLE – A coalition of businesses in Seattle has started a campaign to repeal the city’s new tax on large businesses to help fund homeless services and affordable housing.

Multiple news outlets reported that the group calling itself No Tax on Jobs began collecting signatures Friday to qualify for a citizen referendum.

Their goal is to get about 18,000 signatures by mid-June in order to get the question on the November ballot. It otherwise takes effect on Jan. 1, 2019.

The group is chaired by James Maiocco, chief business development officer with Redmond-based tech firm Pushpay, according to a filing Friday with the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission.

On Monday, the Seattle City Council unanimously approved a yearly tax of $275 per full-time employee to be levied on businesses with at least $20 million annually in Seattle revenue, beginning next year.