Council Candidate Eddie Lin Proposes Repealing Recently Passed Sales Tax Hike

In an unceremonious betrayal of working people, the Seattle City Council approved Mayor Bruce Harrell’s .1% sales tax increase to fund “public safety. The council feigned discomfort at the regressive nature of the tax — Seattle already boasts the highest sales tax in the country — before ultimately insisting their hands were tied. But District 2 City Council Member Eddie Lin, who's been trying to sharpen his progressive image, is proving that no, their hands are absolutely not tied. 

“We cannot continue to balance our budget on the backs of working families. My neighbors are already struggling to keep a roof over their heads and put food on the table,” Lin said in a press release.

In a press release last week, Lin proposed repealing the recently passed sales tax hike and replacing it with a local expansion of 2% onto the state’s capital gains tax, which taxes the profits from the sale of stocks and bonds, over $262,000 in a year. The press release argued a capital gains tax would be more fair to working people who already feel a disproportionate tax burden under Washington's regressive tax code.

According to early rough estimates when Council Member Cathy Moore proposed such an expansion in 2024, about 860 taxpayers would be subject to the tax and it would raise $16 million to $52 million a year. 

Lin’s campaign argued in their press release that the changing political makeup of the council could get the local capital gains tax across the finish line. 

Still, it may be a stretch. 

Technically, the council lost two of the three votes in favor of Moore’s 2024 proposal — Council Member Tammy Morales and Moore herself. But voters replaced Council Member Tanya Woo, who abstained over a financial conflict of interest, with progressive revenue champion Alexis Mercedes Rinck. And voters will likely give Council President Sara Nelson the boot and replace her with Dionne Foster, who also supports a capital gains tax. Then Lin makes three. 

Tracking down a fourth and a fifth vote, the probable progressive bloc should look toward Council Members Dan Strauss and Joy Hollingsworth. Strauss voted in favor of the proposal at full council in 2024, but progressives can never be too sure with Strauss. When he’s in a make-or-break position with a bill, he tends to use that position to get concessions. However, he may take a more progressive approach in line with the recent victors if he’s looking at a third term.  

Hollingsworth voted “yes” in the committee meeting, but mysteriously changed her vote, allegedly under pressure from the Mayor. With a different Mayor, maybe she could flip again!

And even if they could get the votes for capital gains in general, repealing shit is hard. Just ask Nelson who spent her precious, short time as council president terrorizing the gig economy. 

Still, Lin's proposal calls the City Council on their BS. Both Strauss and Rinck whined about how the council didn't have many other options, but as I wrote last week, they have a whole list of progressive revenue sources to pick from. And they could always skim a little from the Seattle Police Department! Just saying.

Overall, it’s the proposal is an interesting play by Lin who seems to have fallen into the progressive lane by accident. At the start of his campaign, he seemed to be playing to the center. According to very illuminating infographic from Hacks and Wonks, Lin said he agreed with the council’s position to reinstate SOAP and SODA banishment zones, he said it was “worth” lowering the police department’s standards to recruit more cops, and he also agreed with the City’s choice to defund affordable housing to patch up the budget deficit. 

More recently, Lin seems to be migrating left. In the biggest reversal, Lin posted an Instagram reel calling for the repeal of SOAP and SODA banishment zones. After strong backlash (mostly because of misinfo that he had no part in), Lin apologized for his support of the business-backed alternative to the recently passed social housing funding mechanism. And he also joined the chorus of dissent when the Mayor and council passed a major expansion to surveillance. 

Stephen Paolini, Lin’s consultant, told The Burner he’s proud of his candidates evolution. 

“Since that Hacks and Wonks interview, Eddie has knocked on thousands of doors, talked to hundreds of constituents, met with dozens of advocacy groups and unions, and worked hard to make sure he's representing what South End wants,” Paolini said in a text. “I love that he's willing to go beyond his initial instinct on issues, carefully considering the arguments people are making, and adopt more progressive positions as a result.”