The Seattle City Council voted unanimously on Monday to impose a 2.25 percent income tax on the city's wealthiest residents.
Individuals making more than $250,000 and married couples filing joint returns earning over $500,000 would be taxed, with the city estimating the tax would bring in $140 million a year, which could be used to pay for transit and to lower property taxes. "We have an increasing affordability gap between the haves and have nots," Councilmember Lisa Herbold, co-sponsor of the measure, said. "The middle class is being squeezed as well. And one of the reasons is our outdated, regressive, and unfair tax structure."
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