‘Shuttered businesses don’t pay taxes’

Mark Matassa • Feb 6, 2018

Feb 6, 2018

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          <article>
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                <h1>‘Shuttered businesses don’t pay taxes’</h1>
                <h2><p>Seattle Councilman Tim Burgess made headlines last week when he proposed new taxes on gun sales. This was a way, he said, to curb gun violence and also help the city budget to the tune of $300,000 to $500,000 a year. Seattle Times reporter Daniel Beekman hit the</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/mmatassa-mac-com/">Mark Matassa</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>Seattle Councilman Tim Burgess made headlines last week when he <a href="http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/how-gun-tax-legislation-would-affect-seattle-firearms-stores/?ref=avalancheghost.one">proposed new taxes on gun sales</a>. This was a way, he said, to curb gun violence and also help the city budget to the tune of $300,000 to $500,000 a year. <em>Seattle Times</em> reporter Daniel Beekman hit the gun stores to find out how the plan might play out. One firearms dealer, on Aurora Avenue North near Green Lake, said he’s operating on such tight margins that the proposal, if it became law, likely would put him out of business or push him out to the suburbs. For that reason, the shop owner said, he doubts Burgess’s plan would raise $300,000. “Shuttered businesses,” he said, “don’t pay taxes.”</p>
          </article>

Seattle Councilman Tim Burgess made headlines last week when he proposed new taxes on gun sales. This was a way, he said, to curb gun violence and also help the city budget to the tune of $300,000 to $500,000 a year. Seattle Times reporter Daniel Beekman hit the gun stores to find out how the plan might play out. One firearms dealer, on Aurora Avenue North near Green Lake, said he’s operating on such tight margins that the proposal, if it became law, likely would put him out of business or push him out to the suburbs. For that reason, the shop owner said, he doubts Burgess’s plan would raise $300,000. “Shuttered businesses,” he said, “don’t pay taxes.”

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