Seattle won’t add a capital gains tax this year.
Supporters of the proposed capital gains tax in Seattle to fund housing and food assistance programs made one last push Thursday as the Seattle City Council executed a series of votes to finalize the 2025 budget.
CHS reported here on the final 2025 spending plan including a $10 million reallocation from Black Lives Matter “participatory budgeting” to fund disadvantaged communities and a roster of Capitol Hill public safety investments.
Included in Thursday’s final votes was the capital gains proposal from North Seattle City Councilmember Cathy Moore that would implement a 2% tax on capital gains over $250,000 from the sale or exchange of assets like stocks, bonds and business interests. Tuesday, a majority of the council’s budget committee rejected the proposal. Thursday’s full council also voted the plan down with only three members in support as District 3’s Joy Hollingsworth opted to side with the “no” votes.
Another push for the tax could be more successful in 2025. Hollingsworth has supported the idea, saying she voted against the proposal Thursday out of respect for the budget committee’s rejection.
Tuesday, the council committee split in a 4-4 vote on the proposal with Hollingsworth voting for the potential new source of revenue. Tanya Woo, set to be replaced by Alexis Mercedes-Rinck after November’s election results, abstained on the vote citing her husband’s stock trading. It is likely the more progressive Mercedes-Rinck could help tip the balance on the proposed tax in a future vote.
Thursday’s final vote on the city’s budget included a protest vote against the package from District 2 representative Tammy Morales. “For the first time during my tenure on this Council, I voted no on the biennial budget,” Morales said in a message to constituents. “To all of those that came to public comment and our public hearings to share your testimonies, I heard you, loud and clear. And I’m sorry that this budget may not reflect your vision for the city.”
“No” votes against the compromise budget packages used to be an annual rite for D3 rep Kshama Sawant. In 2022, the socialist was joined by unusual company in her annual protest vote as citywide rep and current council president Sara Nelson and former U District, View Ridge, Wallingford, and Wedgwood rep Alex Pedersen cast “no” votes against the budget package over what they said was its lack of adequate public safety spending.
Meanwhile, the King County Council also has finalized the county’s $10.2 billion budget for 2025, “which includes significant investments in housing, health, safety, transportation, climate, and the environment.”
The newly approved $10.2 billion 2025 budget reflects a commitment to tackling the region’s most pressing challenges with strategic investments. The budget prioritizes affordable housing and supportive services, expands transit options, critical health programs, and efforts to reduce gun violence while advancing climate initiatives and preserving natural spaces. Despite significant budgetary constraints, these investments highlight King County’s dedication to innovation and sustainability, ensuring essential services continue to support residents and strengthen the community.
The council says its spending plan includes a $150 million projected shortfall in 2026 meaning more belt-tightening ahead in next year’s budget debate.
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Wow man…This is going to be a permanent thing. Unless we change it. It’s business superiority.
And then this…She supported it to vote against it as she always was anyway. The excuse is a lie. I can’t wait to vote her out.
Hollingsworth has supported the idea, saying she voted against the proposal Thursday out of respect for the budget committee’s rejection.
More dumb ideas from Progressive wing who doesn’t bother to think about their ideas for more than 2 mins. (Defund the police, make drugs and robbery legal… anyone?)
The region’s rich people already predominantly reside in Bellevue… At best, this will just drive the last few to update their primary residence to a vacation or secondary house outside Seattle; at worst, this further drives wealth creators outside Seattle and Seattle becomes more of a more famous, but in effect poorer, dirtier cousin of the Eastside.
So the poor and middle class are ‘dirty’. I find your comment disgusting.
I really don’t get why Progressives like this gentleman above learnt to lie constantly, uncontrollably. It used to be the case where Republicans lie and Democrats call them out on this, it has completely reverted since 2018 or so.
Back to the topic — I said Seattle city is poorer measured by average income of its residents and the city is dirtier (to surprise of no one). Where did anyone say anything about middle class being dirty?
So, stop lying please.
You can’t even lie to defeat Trump, you definitely won’t win arguments and generate better ideas by lying.
You act like this problem can’t be legislated away…
Government is for the rich because they buy our reps, and your solution is to lean into it???
Bellevue will never get popular outside the wealthy Boomer class because it has horrible urbanism and is a giant car sewer with the dumbest zoning imaginable. AND it’s expensive too? How is that conducive to a future where Seattle is outshined??? Hilarious postulation but I don’t think you have to worry about that lol.
Bellevue sucks because of who lives there and how they design it. The public schools are great though because they’re all rich and don’t wanna contribute their taxes to Seattle where more poor bipoc citizens live. They can live in their enclave but no one will care because Seattle will always be a better more vibrant and diverse city with places people actually want to walk…not just big box stores and malls.
You might think Bellevue sucks from your own preferences. But by most objective measures it’s way more successful than Seattle and will continue to be so:
– Tax base growth and per-resident
– Public safety
– Residents’ happiness and trust in their government
– Infrastructure quality
– Job growth
And on and on.
And I also noticed that you convenient went on a rant against Bellevue and rich people without answering my question: how does this measure not drive more rich people always and hence further weakening Seattle’s tax base and attracting talents?