Yes, that is the general objection to taxes that are directly aligned to workers. "Taxing jobs" leads to those jobs going to other jurisdictions (like Redmond o

Yes, that is the general objection to taxes that are directly aligned to workers. "Taxing jobs" leads to those jobs going to other jurisdictions (like Redmond or Bellevue) where possible. I think they're hedging against this by attempting to cover any business in Seattle and levying the payroll tax on any employees who works or lives in Seattle city limits. See section 5.45.090.S. I just skimmed the legislation but two relevant points for you are they've explicitly exempted a few business with classically high revenue and low margins, like grocery stores. The tax itself is also levied on employee payroll expenses starting at $150,000 when hte cities median income is about $65,000 last I looked. See section 5.38.030.