Seattle leaders face raucous debate on Amazon tax rollback

SEATTLE » Angry people at a Seattle City Council meeting shouted for more time to discuss a vote Tuesday on repealing a tax on large businesses like Amazon that aimed to raise money to fight a homelessness crisis.

Supporters and opponents of the tax were talking for about an hour before Council President Bruce Harrell gave them more time. City leaders said they plan to repeal the tax just a month after unanimously approving it as they faced mounting pressure from companies.

The quick surrender showed the power of Amazon to help rally opposition and aggressively push back on taxes at all levels of government, even in its affluent home city where the income gap is ever widening and lowerincome workers are being priced out of housing. It has resulted in one of the highest homelessness rates in the U.S.

Amazon temporarily halted construction planning on a new highrise building near its Seattle headquarters in protest.