Seattle Skylights and Taxes

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Working in Seattle can be challenging

Installing and repairing commercial skylights can be a challenge in Seattle, but not for the reasons you may be thinking of. We can repair or replace a skylight anywhere in the world and have it be a successful project with long term leak-proof installation.

It is having to process the paperwork required by the State of Washington, the City of Seattle and the Union that makes it such a burden.

For some reason they make the contractor, the sub-contractor and the manufacturer all pull permits. I soon found out that process can be interesting especially when they have a big sign sitting on the counter that says “It is illegal to carry firearms into this office”. With their processes I think I’d remind people about that, too!

It is illegal to carry firearms into this office.

– L&I Department

Once you get the paperwork processed you find out that there are all kinds of taxes. Taxes for the number of hours worked, taxes for just doing business there, like you aren’t already paying taxes for lodging and fuel and materials. I’m not even mentioning the cost to support the Union!

Thank goodness we don’t have any office or warehouse space because they even tax for that! The form they supplied requested you pay something like $.36 a square foot, but on their website they said they made a mistake and are charging something like $1.56 a square foot! Some mistake. So you fill out your form like a nice legal citizen and you have a 5,000.00 square foot space. You send in your $1,800.00 begrudgingly because this is a new tax. And then you get a bill in the mail for $6,000.00! I hope for the sake of business people in Seattle that I am wrong.

Feel free to contact me by email and let me know if you think I am mistaken! Either way there is no way around the fact that Seattle is not necessarily business friendly. They are more like business sponges!

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