Seattle’s tax burden shifted to business as jobs slipped away, new report finds

What happened

A new report released by ECOnorthwest, commissioned jointly by the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, show city tax revenues far outstripping population and job growth, driven by targeted corporate taxes on a small pool of major employers. A new joint report from the Downtown Seattle Association and the Seattle Metro Chamber shows city tax collections nearly tripling since 2013, surging far past population and job growth as the tax burden shifts heavily onto a small pool of major employers.

But who pays those taxes, and how the tax revenue is collected, looks vastly different today than a decade ago. Between 2013 and 2025, Seattle’s tax revenues jumped 172%, outpacing population growth (31%), job growth (23%), and local inflation (50%) . During that period, real tax growth grew 5.6 times faster than population and 7.5 times faster than employment .

Key facts

• A new report — released: by ECOnorthwest, commissioned jointly by the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, show city tax revenues far outstripping population and job growth, driven by targeted corporate taxes on a small pool of major employers