(The Center Square) – The Tacoma City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved a sales tax increase to fund public safety and help address a projected $15 million budget shortfall, despite several council members voicing concerns about the tax hike.
The sales and use increase is authorized by Washington’s House Bill 2015, which creates new funding for public safety by allowing cities and counties to enact a new 0.1% sales tax for criminal justice and providing $100 million in state grants for law enforcement hiring/training, contingent on agencies meeting training and reporting standards.
On April 1, Tacoma’s sales tax will go up from 10.3% to 10.4% – an increase of 10 cents per $100 spent – and is expected to generate an estimated $7 million to $7.5 million annually.
Revenue generated by the public safety sales tax increase can only go toward public safety needs, as required by the state. Tacoma previously stated the increase is necessary to fund essential government programs and maintain its current 911 response times by avoiding staffing cuts.
“We have very limited funds and what is available for us is dictated to us by the state Legislature and this is one of the tools that the recent Legislature has given us in order to help fill some budget constraints within local government budgets, particularly around public safety,” Tacoma City Councilmember and Deputy Mayor Joe Bushnell said during Tuesday night’s meeting.
Some King County and Seattle leaders have noted that the sales tax increase is regressive – that is, lower-income taxpayers pay a larger percentage of their income toward the tax. Bushnell and other Tacoma City Council members acknowledged that sentiment, but said the sales tax is one of a few options given to the city by the state Legislature.
Councilmember Sandesh Sadalge said he wanted to be “a strong no” on the tax increase, citing residents’ tax fatigue.
“I got angry because we live in a state which has such a regressive [tax] system where we ostensibly tax poor people to help poor people,” Sadalge explained.
Despite his objections, Sadalge ultimately voted in favor of the tax, adding that he feels “terrible about it.”
Councilmember Sarah Rumbaugh said the tax increase will help fill the funding gap for domestic violence and gun violence preventative measures, by appointing a court advocate, which the city currently does not have.
The estimated $7 million to $7.5 million generated annually by the tax hike is significantly less than its larger neighboring city of Seattle, which adopted its own public safety sales tax increase that lifts its rate to 10.55% with an anticipated $39 million in generated revenue for the city in 2026.
Spokane represents a similar population compared to Tacoma, which approved its own sales tax increase effective April 1. The city expects the increase to generate approximately $6.5 million annually through 2035.
