The Brief
- Washington state’s new taxes, effective October 1, aim to raise $9 billion over four years, impacting around 90,000 businesses, especially small ones.
- Joshua Dirks, owner of a Seattle digital agency, discusses on a podcast how these taxes are forcing him to close his business due to increased costs and competitive disadvantages.
- The new tax measures have sparked concerns about the future of small businesses in Washington, with potential implications for the state’s economic landscape and business environment.
SEATTLE – A controversial slew of taxes went into effect on Oct. 1 in Washington state, which aim to generate about $9 billion over four years. The taxes impact about 90,000 businesses, according to the Washington State Department of Revenue.
On the ninth episode of the “Seattle News Weekly” podcast, FOX 13 Seattle anchor Hana Kim talks about a suite of new taxes that took effect this month, pushed by the state’s Democratic-majority Legislature. Joining Hana to discuss the effect of these recent taxes is Joshua Dirks, team lead of Seattle-based advertising company Project Bionic.
The controversy centers on the expansion of the retail sales tax to cover various services, including digital advertising. This tax is now applied to services such as information technology, custom website development, investigation/security services, live presentations and custom software.…