A year ago, Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen, D-Seattle, signed onto legislation to create a statewide version of a Seattle tax on the payrolls of Washington’s largest employers.
But it didn’t gain traction as the Democrat-led Legislature settled on other means of raising more than $9 billion in taxes from businesses over four years to bridge an operating budget gap.
This year, Pedersen has signalled the payroll expense tax is a nonstarter, even as his district seatmate in the House, Democratic Socialist Rep. Shaun Scott, has become the driving force for it…