Amazon And Seattle Butt Heads Over Tax Proposal To Address Housing Costs

Nothing is ever easy in commerce and law, and in the case of Amazon and its home city, Seattle, the problem has just gotten more complicated. The City Council basically wants to impose new taxes on the biggest employers in its jurisdiction to help alleviate the burden on citizens over rising housing costs. In retaliation, Amazon basically took 7,000 jobs hostage and is now playing a dangerous game of chicken.

If the tax plan ever comes through, it would mean a hefty financial burden on Amazon. At $500 per employee, it’s only natural that the online merchant giant would not be happy to take on such a hit to its bottom-line, even if it is to help with the housing crisis that it was partly responsible for. Amazon is often blamed for why property prices in the city have gone up, the New York Times reports.

The company recently escalated this fight by announcing that it would halt the construction of a new building in the downtown area, which is still in the planning stages. Instead, the company will occupy another building that is already being built. One result of this decision would be the threat under which it would place the jobs of 7,000 workers.

To say that the city officials were taken by surprise by this decision would be an understatement. Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan issued a statement expressing her alarm with regards to the announcement and providing ideas as to what she plans to do about it.

“I’m deeply concerned about the impact this decision will have on a large range of jobs — from our building trades, to restaurant workers, to nurses, manufacturing jobs and tech workers,” Mayor Durkan said. “At the same time, our city must urgently address our homelessness and affordability crisis and lift up those who have been left behind.”

As USA Today notes, this move by Amazon provides cities with a glimpse of what the future could look like with incredibly powerful corporations having so much influence over their economies. Right now, Amazon is just stretching its muscles and already, people are losing their minds.