Socialist Seattle councilwoman: Overthrow ‘racist, sexist, violent, utterly bankrupt system of capitalism’
A city councilwoman threatened Bezos in an interview posted on Twitter
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After the Seattle City Council approved a payroll tax on the city’s largest employers this week, one of the councilmembers appeared to threaten locally headquartered e-commerce giant Amazon -- while using fiery language to call for the "overthrow" of the "rotten" system of capitalism.
In a video posted on Twitter, a woman who has been identified as Seattle City Councilwoman Kshama Sawant, said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos would be defeated if he tried to oppose what has become known as the “Amazon tax.”
“We are coming for you and your rotten system,” Sawant said. “We are coming to dismantle this deeply oppressive, racist, sexist, violent, utterly bankrupt system of capitalism -- this police state. We cannot and will not stop until we overthrow it and replace it with a world based instead on solidarity, genuine democracy and equality -- a socialist world.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The video was first reported by The Washington Examiner on Wednesday.
SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL APPROVES PAYROLL TAX ON LARGEST, BEST-PAYING COMPANIES
The measure Sawant was referencing is a payroll tax approved by the city council this week. The levy would be applied to businesses with $7 million or more in annual payroll, but an assessment would not be placed on salaries below $150,000.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The tax would range from 0.7 percent to 2.4 percent.
A spokesperson for Amazon did not returned Fox News' request for comment on the plan.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}This isn’t the first time Seattle has tried to raise revenue by taxing its largest employers.
The city came close to implementing a head tax in 2018, which was set at $275 per employee annually for companies that make more than $20 million in revenue. While unanimously approved by the city council, the measure was met with staunch resistance from local businesses, including Amazon and Starbucks. Amazon said it would reconsider projects in the city if the measure went into effect.
Ultimately, Seattle did not follow through with the policy.