These “Opportunity Voices” Help Shape Conversation Around Tax Impact on Local Businesses
Seattle, WA. Four additional plaintiffs were added to the original August 9 lawsuit filed by the Opportunity for All Coalition. The new plaintiffs signed on to the complaint to lend their support for the ongoing effort to fight the recently passed illegal Seattle Income Tax.
“The additional plaintiffs reflect the growing momentum against the illegal income tax,” said Matt McIlwain, who helped found the Opportunity for All Coalition. “We have seen significant support not only in Seattle, but also from surrounding communities and around the state. People understand that if this tax is upheld in Seattle, it will get expanded to other communities and all income levels.”
“This city’s income tax won’t affect us immediately,” said Plaintiff Alisa Artis. “But it is inevitable that the tax will be extended to families of all incomes. As we consider re-starting our baking business, this tax makes us re-think whether Seattle is the best place to do that.”
“I support the complaint because I see the real damage this tax will have on businesses in our community,” said Plaintiff Lien Dang. “The Coalition is uniting a diverse group together to prove that this tax is unnecessary and illegal.”
“I would love to end my 90-minute commute to Seattle,” said Plaintiff Kerry Lebel, who works at a technology company in Seattle, but drives from his home in University Place. “The Seattle City Council is actually creating significant disincentives for people interested in working and living in the city. And, I don’t see any way this tax would not affect the majority of Seattle residents within the next few years.”
The Seattle income tax will be costly for long-time homeowners who are relying on selling their homes to cover retirement or assisted living expenses. Plaintiff Dorothy Sale, a 98-year old Seattleite who bought her home in Ravenna in 1967, said, “I am not rich. I live on a state pension and social security. Seattle’s income tax will harm homeowners like me who may someday be forced to sell their houses to cover long-term care.”
The Opportunity for ALL Coalition (www.opportunityforall.us) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to support a legal challenge to the recently passed Seattle income tax. The Coalition’s legal team includes former Washington State Attorney General Rob McKenna, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerry Alexander, former Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge, and Dan Dunne, a litigation partner at Orrick Herrington. |