Op-Ed: The Data Says Seattle’s High Earners Tax Is Working, Despite Whining from Big Business

An opinion piece argues that Seattle’s high-earner taxes—the 2020 JumpStart payroll tax and a 2025 social housing tax—are not causing job losses, citing employment data showing tech and professional services jobs grew 20% in Seattle from 2019 to 2024 while declining slightly in Bellevue. The author counters a Downtown Seattle Association report claiming the taxes harm the economy, attributing downtown retail job losses to national post-pandemic trends rather than tax policy.