As impartial grocers in Seattle, we’ve weathered many storms: a worldwide pandemic, provide chain disruptions and the lingering results of inflation. Our small companies are greater than shops; they’re neighborhood hubs the place neighbors join, and households depend on us for recent, inexpensive meals.
However Seattle’s proposed Enterprise and Occupation tax improve threatens to push our companies to the brink, forcing us to lift grocery costs at a time when Seattle households can least afford it. The Seattle Metropolis Council is anticipated to vote to put the proposal on the November poll for voter approval.
We perceive that our neighborhood is already feeling the pressure of rising prices. We urge metropolis leaders to rethink this misguided coverage. Whereas we respect town’s efforts to deal with price range challenges, this proposal, launched by Mayor Bruce Harrell and Councilmember Alexis Mercedes Rinck, is the unsuitable method. The politicians will say that they protected small companies by elevating the B&O tax threshold from $100,000 to $2 million in gross income. Which may sound like aid, but it surely received’t assist excessive quantity, low-margin companies like your neighborhood grocery. For grocers like us, working on razor-thin margins, the elevated tax burden on our suppliers will inevitably trickle all the way down to our cabinets and our clients’ wallets.
Including a tax hike that impacts our suppliers solely compounds the challenges we already face. Agricultural shippers and processors, important to our provide chain, will face increased prices below the brand new tax construction. These prices received’t be absorbed by large firms. They are going to be handed to us, the grocers and in the end to shoppers.
Our shops function on margins as little as 1%-2%. Not like massive chains, we don’t have the monetary cushion to soak up these price will increase. If our suppliers increase costs to offset the B&O tax hike, we’ll don’t have any alternative however to cross these prices on to clients. Households already scuffling with grocery payments, up 20% nationally since 2020, will really feel these will increase acutely. A latest Washington State Food Security Survey, performed by the College of Washington and Washington State College, discovered that meals insecurity charges have been considerably increased amongst households with respondents figuring out as Black (77%) or Hispanic (70%), indicating that this tax would disproportionately affect minority communities.
The town argues the tax hike will generate $90 million yearly to deal with a $251 million price range deficit and fund human providers. We help investing in our neighborhood, however concentrating on companies in a approach that raises meals costs for Seattle households is shortsighted. Seattle’s financial problem similar to excessive workplace vacancies, declining tourism and lowered client spending demand options that don’t burden important providers like grocery shops.
Our shops are the place neighbors meet and youngsters develop up. Elevating B&O taxes now, amid financial uncertainty, is just not the fitting method.
