SEATTLE — Seattle voters will be asked to approve a sales tax increase to pay for bus service, as the coronavirus pandemic forces transit budget cutbacks.
The Seattle City Council Monday voted to send a measure to the November ballot for a .15% sales tax to renew a city tax known as the Seattle Transportation Benefit District. If passed by voters, it would replace an existing .1% sales tax and $60 car-tab fee, meaning taxpayers would see car tab costs decrease and sales taxes increase next year.
The six-year measure would raise about $42 million a year for Metro bus service, transit passes for students and people with low incomes and “emergent needs” related to the pandemic and the West Seattle Bridge closure. That’s less than the $56 million a year raised last year under the current tax.
The council chose not to renew the car-tab fee because those fees are in legal limbo after statewide voters approved a initiative to lower car-tab taxes last fall.