Tacoma city officials are mulling over a modest slice of tax increase, a 0.1% bump in the sales and use tax rate, exclusively geared towards shoring up the city’s criminal justice resources. Financial forecasts have shown a looming budget shortfall, and there’s a rallying cry for modernizing the public safety protocol, a need pulled sharply into focus by community concern. According to a City of Tacoma press release, the increase would translate to paying an additional ten cents per $100 spent, ticking up Tacoma’s sales tax from 10.3% to 10.4%.
For scrambling to keep up with the budget shortfall, this tax could pump an estimated $7 million to $7.5 million into the city coffers each year. Essential items like most groceries and prescription medicines won’t see this tax hike, a strategic move to blunt the blow on low-income earners. “The Impact: Essential items like most groceries and prescription drugs are exempt from sales tax, minimizing the impact on low-income families,” the Tacoma press release emphasizes. In a statement obtained by the same, using the funds for criminal justice purposes means maintaining police and firefighter staffing for prompt 911 response and funding behavioral health co-responders and diversion programs.
It’s not an exclusive club Tacoma’s trying to join. Seattle, Renton, and King County have recently crossed the finish line with similar tax adjustments, while cities across Washington, such as Spokane Valley, are also tuning into this frequency to underpin their public safety nets…