Seattle chamber ends fight over city’s JumpStart business tax

The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce has decided to end its fight to appeal a recent Washington Court of Appeals ruling, which upheld the King County Superior Court’s dismissal of a lawsuit that contested the constitutionality of a controversial payroll tax, also known as JumpStart Seattle.

King County Superior Court judge Mary Roberts had ruled in June that a payroll tax that applies to businesses that spend $7 million or more on payroll in Seattle is “constitutionally permissible.”

“We’ve decided the Chamber will not appeal this recent court decision. Ultimately, with two lower court rulings against us, it is unlikely that there will be a different outcome for this legal strategy at the Washington State Supreme Court — and no guarantee the court will even accept this case,” said Rachel Smith, president and CEO of the chamber.

The chamber had argued that JumpStart was an illegal tax on employees and their right to make a living, while Seattle’s lawyers said the measure was a tax on employers and their business activities.

Seattle City Council voted 7-2 to pass the tax on July 6, 2020. It was introduced by Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda.

“We can jump-start our economy and do it in an equitable and inclusive way,” Mosqueda previously said.

About two weeks after the tax passed, then-Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan refused to sign the tax bill but she did not veto it either.

While the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce has ended its lawsuit, it plans to “bring new focus to our advocacy work on the city of Seattle budget to hold city leaders accountable for what you and your employees, the voters, want — a city budget that aligns with priorities and delivers action on public safety, affordability, and homelessness.”