(The Center Square) – The Metropolitan King County Council passed a new 0.01% sales tax increase this week to help homeless families, which will push Seattle’s sales tax rate to 10.56% starting Jan. 1.
The council approved the new rate on Tuesday, placing Seattle among the cities with the highest municipal sales tax rates in the nation.
Residents in other parts of King County could see rates as high as 10.55%.
The Seattle rate could even go higher, to 10.81%, if voters approve an increase in the Seattle Transportation Tax in November, increasing the tax from 0.15% to 0.30%
The new King County rate increase adds roughly $4 per year for a median household in the county, or an extra penny for every $100 spent on applicable goods.
In total, the multi-year measure is projected to raise up to $10 million annually to expand emergency shelter beds and services for unsheltered children and families across the region.
In June, the King County Council approved another measure increasing taxes for road repairs.
In the latest tax move on Tuesday, the council exercised new authority granted by the Washington State Legislature earlier this year.
It allowed local governments to implement slight tax increases for critical safety-net needs – including childcare, youth programs, and family shelters -without requiring voter approval.
While state lawmakers set broad goals, council staff noted in a summary that county leadership retains broad discretion over how the tax revenues will be allocated.
King County Executive Girmay Zahilay anticipated the council’s vote last month by announcing plans for new affordable housing units, tiny home villages, and shelter projects.
Individual cities within King County can enact an identical local tax; if a city does, its revenue will be deducted from King County’s share so consumers aren’t taxed twice on the same purchases.
Councilmember Jorge Barón pointed to the severe shortage of shelter beds relative to the growing number of homeless children in King County in arguing for the new tax.
Barón at a council meeting on Tuesday emphasized that taxes remain the primary mechanism available to local officials to urgently expand shelter capacity for vulnerable families, even though they are imperfect.
The vote was 6-3 in favor of the tax. Councilmembers Reagan Dunn, Sarah Perry and Pete von Reichbauer were against the measure.
“Families across King County are being squeezed by the high costs of housing, groceries, and fuel,” Dunn said in a statement. “At the same time, the county has had to take repeated steps to address waste and fraud in its own spending. The difficult truth is that raising taxes will not make life more affordable.”