That people automatically assume taxes levied against corporations will result in increased prices isn’t just a failure of civics education.

It’s a failure of math.

First of all, payroll and other corporate taxes are paid independently of consumer sales activity, so any price increase is either speculative or reactive (but could be causation, not correlation).

Second, let’s consider the scope. We’ll use the proposed head tax, which was going charge the company $250 per employee. It was slated to raise about $50m per year from all of Seattle’s big corporations, including Amazon.

Let’s put that in perspective.

Amazon employs around 50k people in Seattle & would pay about $12.5 million.

Which sounds like a lot! Except! They recorded about $87.4 BILLION in profits in just ONE QUARTER of 2019.

So that tax is couch cushion money to them.

let’s say Bezos, who has enough money to pay everyone a living wage without breaking a sweat, decides to punish the city for the mean tax. He raises prices to get back that $12.5mil!

With annual sales revenue ~$280B, he’d need to raise taxes a fraction of a penny per sale.

To which I say... go for it??

If a corporation says they have to raise prices a demonstrable amount as the result of a tax, ASK FOR RECEIPTS. If YOU’RE paying more and you actually notice it, they are doing a lot more than just passing it on.

They’re taking advantage of you.

Corporations make so much more than you know or understand. But they put their tax opposition into language that makes sense to you.

It SOUNDS right because with normal people money, it would be. But they’re paying a whole different ballgame. Your budgetary rules do not apply.

Corporations do not need you to fight on their behalf. Amazon, Walmart, Nike, whoever has n e v e r gone to bat for you. They do not have your back. They don’t have your interests at heart.

So why would you vote to protect them? What do you owe them?

TAX THEM. LET THEM FIGURE IT OUT. They will be fine and if they throw a big fit it’s because they’re spoiled diaper babies. Not because they can’t manage.

You manage huge, noticeable increases in property taxes, gas taxes, car tabs... just to protect them from paying their bit.

In conclusion, corporations are Bobby Newport.