wealth tax

Seattle's Socialist Mayor Laughs at Wealthy Residents Leaving To Escape High Taxes

“Bye!” Mayor Katie Wilson says with a wave to those who want out.

J.D. Tuccille | 5.4.2026 7:00 AM

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(Illustration: Lex Villena; M. Scott Brauer/ZUMAPRESS/Newscom)

Seattle's socialist Mayor Katie Wilson has a message for prosperous people leaving Washington over the state's soaring tax burden. "Bye!" she says with a laugh, to cheers from a largely progressive audience. Entrepreneurs and investors will certainly take that comment into account as they consider where to live and do business. We can be sure of that fact because recent research further supports the commonsense idea that people often leave high-tax states in search of lower tax bills.

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Goodbye, Wealthy People!

Wilson's comments came during an April 16 discussion about "The New Progressives" as part of Seattle University's Conversations series. Wilson and King County Executive Girmay Zahilay fielded a series of questions by host Joni Balter and graduate student Ari Winter.

Asked about major companies leaving or threatening to leave over Seattle's and Washington's escalating tax burden, Zahilay acknowledged that "everything is a tradeoff" and "of course I think taxes can make companies make decisions about staying or leaving." You wouldn't necessarily want to live under his policies, but he sounds like he understands that his decisions may drive people out and impose costs on the community.

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