Apparently determined to kill economic prosperity, at least within its own city limits, Seattle city councilors unanimously voted to impose a new tax on large employers within the city. Mayor Jenny Durkan, who won the office last November after her predecessor Mayor Ed Murray was caught in a child sex abuse scandal, threatened to veto the tax if it passed at the originally proposed number of $500 per employee. For her part, Durkan had proposed to raise $40 million with a head tax of $250 per employee per year. Ultimately, the Mayor and councilors settled on establishing a tax of $275 per employee, per year on for-profit companies that gross at least $20 million per year, beginning in 2019 and expiring in 2024 unless reauthorized by the council and mayor. The funds raised by the new tax, estimated to be about $48 million per year, will be earmarked to help address homelessness in the city.