Tacoma council approves bump to sales tax. Here’s what it could pay for
Starting in April, shoppers in the city of Tacoma are likely to pay an additional 0.1% percent in sales tax.
The Tacoma City Council voted unanimously at its Jan. 6 meeting to approve the sales tax hike. Money raised will cover costs related to criminal justice. The council’s approval comes as the city contends with a structural budget deficit – when a city’s expenses consistently exceed revenues despite one-time infusions of cash.
The council’s approval means the tax hike would go into effect on April 1, 2026 – as long as the Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission and Department of Revenue approve the city’s application. If it goes into effect, the tax hike would increase the city’s sales tax amount from 10.3 to 10.4%. Revenue from the tax increase is expected to raise about $7 to $7.5 million every year.
The council’s approval comes after council members discussed the possibility of implementing the tax at a study session late last year. Now former Mayor Victoria Woodards said at that November meeting that said she hoped to see the council approve the tax by the end of 2025.
The city can direct funds raised from the criminal justice sales tax for activities that “substantially assist the criminal justice system,” such as domestic-violence services, staffing public defenders and reentry work for inmates.
The council has the authority to implement such a measure under House Bill 2015, which allows the council to do it councilmanically – using only the council’s authority, without needing to put the measure on a ballot for voter approval.
The council’s approval comes after the city tried and failed to get voter approval on two tax measures in recent years: the renewal of Tacoma’s streets levy in 2025 and a fire and public safety levy in 2024.
Several council members expressed disappointment that the sales tax would raise costs amid rising inflation and described it as part of Washington’s “regressive” tax system, but they agreed that the criminal justice sales tax would bolster public safety in Tacoma.
“We can advocate with our state and our federal partners for a fairer, more just system of revenue for paying for core services, and at the same time we can’t have the luxury of making the perfect the enemy of the good,” Mayor Anders Ibsen said at the Jan. 6 meeting. “People need assistance. People need more support. People need to feel even safer now.”
