Less than a month after unanimously passing a per-worker tax on large employers like Amazon.com Inc, the Seattle City Council voted 7 to 2 to repeal the new tax, which was set to provide almost US$50mil (RM199.77mil) for homeless services and affordable housing.
The reversal caps a tense few weeks in the city, where signature-gatherers – some volunteer, some paid by the business community – stood at parks, grocery stores and transit stops to sign up enough people to put a repeal on the November ballot. The council’s move Tuesday means the employer tax issue won’t face the city’s voters.