Downtown Seattle Lost 30,000 Jobs Since 2020 Payroll Tax: Report

The Amazon headquarters sits in downtown Seattle, Wash., on March 10, 2020. John Moore/Getty ImagesA new report from the Downtown Seattle Association published June 15 stated that downtown Seattle has lost around 30,000 jobs since 2020, when city leaders passed the “JumpStart” business tax, while neighboring Bellevue has become more attractive for businesses.“What we have seen in downtown Seattle is not a ‘jump start,’ but instead, a slowdown,” the report stated. “Seattle has become a tax outlier in the region, and it’s costing the city jobs and tax revenue, while shifting the property tax burden to residents and small businesses, worsening overall affordability in the city.”