Seattle City Council repeals ‘a relic’ license fee on amusement devices

(The Center Square) – The Seattle City Council has passed an ordinance that repeals an annual license fee on various amusement devices owned by Seattle businesses.

The Seattle Municipal Code defines an amusement device as any machine or device which provides recreation or entertainment with a charge for use of play. Examples include pool tables, shuffleboards, music machines, video games, pinball machines, riding devices, and peepshow devices.

According to Council Bill 120619, the city’s amusement device license fee generated $95,550 in general fund revenue, with 68 businesses applying for licenses in 2019. However, the Seattle Finance and Administrative Services Department received license applications from 46 businesses, generating $46,700 in general fund revenue in 2022.

The total revenue estimated to be received from this license fee in 2023 is $64,000, according to the city.

The annual license fee for an amusement device that is activated upon insertion of payment is 100 times the price of one play or use of the device, rounded to the next highest $50, and not to exceed $1,500 per device per year, according to the council bill. Other amusement devices pay a flat fee of $500 per year.

The license fee is further capped depending on the specific type of amusement device. For example, the fee for a countertop device or dart board is capped at $25 per year. Pool tables, shuffle boards, jukeboxes or other music devices are capped at $50 per year. Operators of special events that have amusement devices pay a maximum fee of $100 per event.

Seattle City Councilmember Andrew Lewis sponsored this legislation. Lewis previously called the license fee a “tax on fun” that arguably costs more to implement than it collects.

Lewis said he was unaware of the amusement license fee, prior to businesses in his district mentioning it.

“I looked into what the purpose of this fee was [and] it became clear and evident fairly quickly there is no health, safety, or welfare basis for this fee,” Lewis said at Tuesday’s city council meeting. “This fee is merely an extraction on amusement devices – and fundamentally a number of people in the industry told me that this has a chilling effect on businesses that rely on amusement devices located in the City of Seattle.”

The amusement license fee was first enacted in the 1970s when pinball and arcade machines were more popular. The fee combatted gambling concerns that were associated with these devices. Lewis previously said that it is no longer a hazard the city faces anymore with the amusement machines.

Business owners in Seattle sent a letter to the city council in support of repealing the fee. The businesses include Georgetown Pizza and Arcade, Shorty’s, 4B’s Tavern/Ice Box Arcade/Grand Champion Games, GameWorks Seattle and Olaf’s. The letter states that the small businesses keep their costs low, with their margins being minimal.

“This unique and cumbersome fee represents a real burden to us, especially as we strive to recover from a multi-year pandemic,” the letter states. “There are few businesses that pay this fee, which we feel uniquely targets our establishments with no discernible policy benefit.”

Other cities in King County have similar amusement device fees. This includes Federal Way, which requires an annual license fee of $100 per “novelty amusement device,” and the City of Kent, which requires $50 per amusement device.

Lewis urged the Seattle City Council to continue looking through the city’s municipal code to find any more “relics that are hiding out in our law and are still being practiced that are not advancing any discernible policy purpose.”

Seattle City Council passed the ordinance by a unanimous vote. It now goes to Mayor Bruce Harrell for his signature before it goes into effect.