Inverse Head Tax Proposed In Pierce County, Local Cities

PUYALLUP, WA - A group of Pierce County elected officials gathered in Puyallup Tuesday afternoon to announce a plan to create a sort-of reverse head tax, one that would give businesses $275 per head as opposed to taxing them.

The proposal is as much of a rebuke of the Seattle City Council's recent passage of an actual head tax as it is a plea for recognition. Tacoma and surrounding cities have historically played second fiddle to Seattle and its ultra-wealthy suburbs, fat with the headquarters of global corporate giants.

Officials present at Tuesday's press conference on the reverse head tax included the mayors of Lakewood, Bonney Lake, Puyallup, University Place, and Sumner, in addition to county officials like County Executive Bruce Dammeier.

Dammeier was careful to point out that Pierce County does not want to take jobs away from Seattle, but it wants to attract the types of jobs that have helped the city boom.

The $275 reverse head tax would vary in form city to city. Officials said that jobs paying over $65,000 per year would qualify for the credit, and the credit would go into effect beginning in 2019.

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