The news, first reported by Seattle Times opinion columnist Brier Dudley, coincided with a meeting on the proposed tax inside City Hall with eight of nine elected city council members. The tax has appeared well positioned to win council approval, although the specifics were subject to change.

If Amazon’s threat rattled the slate of elected officials, it was not obvious Wednesday — they largely avoided any public discussion about the company’s statement and none appeared immediately willing to change their vote.

However, in an interview after the meeting Wednesday, Councilmember Kshama Sawant, an ardent supporter of the tax, spoke in blunt terms. "This is a threat, an extortionary warning from Amazon that if you tax us, we will leave," she said. "I see Amazon talking about this in the open as a sign of how successful our tax Amazon campaign has been. $700 billion corporations do not come out of the shadows for nothing. They’re openly flexing their muscles because they feel the threat from the movement in Seattle."

"This is the new 15," she said, referring to the fight to raise Seattle's minimum wage.

The proposed tax, which would raise an estimated $75 million for new housing and homeless services, has been explicitly labeled as an “Amazon tax” by supporters. The tax would be applied on a per employee basis. With Amazon’s approximately 45,000 employees, council members assume the company would be on the hook for $20 to $25 million a year.

“I think Amazon is perfectly capable of paying that, even double or four times that amount,” Sawant said.

The company’s positioning comes amid reports that its CEO, Jeff Bezos — whose net worth is estimated to be $130 billion — is struggling to find somewhere to spend his money, so is investing in outer space projects. And Councilmember Bruce Harrell seemed to acknowledge this idea. “This is sort of pocket change for this human being,” he said.

As City Hall has passed more worker protections, however, pro-business groups have done plenty of hand-wringing over fears that the massive employer may divorce itself from Seattle, invoking the Boeing bust of the 1970s. For some, that fear was already confirmed when Amazon announced it would establish a second headquarters in a different city.

But at the same time, the company’s appetite for growth has not appeared to slow. In March, the Times reported that Amazon had revised upward its forecasts for commercial space usage in Seattle by an additional 2 million square feet, or three skyscrapers. That bumped the total space the company would occupy upon completion of current proposed developments to 14 million total square feet.

Reacting Wednesday, Marilyn Strickland, CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, framed the news as a warning. "Today’s announcement shows that Seattle cannot take its economic prosperity for granted," she said in a statement. "The City of Seattle has abundant tax resources today because many locally based businesses have chosen to grow here. That’s why we urge the City Council to prioritize those resources—including over $700 million in taxes paid by business each year — before pursuing new revenue, and work with regional partners to develop a coordinated plan that will significantly reduce homelessness."

Wednesday’s threat was specifically targeted toward two projects, Rainier Square — currently a pit in the ground where a mall once stood between Fourth and Fifth avenues and University and Union streets — and Block 18 near 7th and Blanchard.