City Funds Public Transport with a Sales Tax

The City: Seattle, WA

The sales tax: 0.1% to 0.15%

The estimated revenue from the sales tax? $42 million a year

Voter approval required? Yes

Which tax sources were rejected?

• 0.1% sales tax with $60 car tab fees that would have raised $56 million a year
• a 0.2% sales tax was rejected because of the regressive nature of sales taxes
• transportation bonds
• construction impact fees were rejected as the funds are limited to infrastructure

The Stranger | Washington Is Stuck Funding Transit with a Sales Tax