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Seattle City Councilmember Lorena Gonzalez Defends Latest Business 'Head Tax' Proposal

Ted S. Warren
/
AP Photo
In this Jan. 30, 2017, file photo, Councilmembers Rob Johnson, Lorena Gonzalez and former Councilmember Tim Burgess listen to public testimony at City Hall.

The Seattle City Council is poised to enact a so-called "head tax" on businesses. 

The latest proposal would only apply to businesses grossing $20 million or more. It would start as a per-employee tax before changing to a tax on total payroll in 2021. It's expected to raise $75 million per year for the city's efforts to combat homelessness.

City Councilmember Lorena Gonzalez is one of the sponsors of the legislation. She spoke with Seattle Times reporters Jim Brunner and Dan Beekman.

The conversation above is an excerpt from The Overcast, the Seattle Times politics podcast recorded at KNKX. You can find The Overcaston iTunes, SoundCloud, TuneIn and Stitcher. 

A Seattle native and former KNKX intern, Simone Alicea spent four years as a producer and reporter at KNKX. She earned her Bachelor's of Journalism from Northwestern University and covered breaking news for the Chicago Sun-Times. During her undergraduate career, she spent time in Cape Town, South Africa, covering metro news for the Cape Times.