Windows Errors? Fix Them Before They Spread
Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallCrashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minuteSeattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said Microsoft and Amazon have an obligation to give back to society, but he did not announce a new tax, a required payment, or a specific program. His October 2025 remarks were a political appeal for corporate community investment—not evidence that either company owes Seattle an additional amount under the law.
What Harrell said about Amazon and Microsoft
At a Fremont Chamber of Commerce event around October 22, 2025, Harrell said, “Microsoft … they made $88 billion last year … they have an obligation to give back to society, as does Amazon,” according to GeekWire’s October 23 report. He also described Seattle as a “city of innovation” and a “great launching pad and fertile grounds” for large companies.
The $88 billion figure needs a fiscal-year qualification. Microsoft reported net income of $88.136 billion for fiscal 2024 and $101.832 billion for fiscal 2025; its fiscal year is not the calendar year. Harrell’s figure corresponds roughly to Microsoft’s fiscal 2024 result, not its fiscal 2025 result, according to the company’s 2025 annual report.
GeekWire also reported Harrell saying Seattle had lost 10,000 Amazon jobs after years of tax-policy friction, while warning that “just to tax people” was not sustainable. That job figure and any causal link to taxes should be treated as Harrell’s claim: the cited reporting does not independently establish either the count or that taxes caused the job changes. Employment decisions can also reflect restructuring, remote work, market conditions, and company strategy.
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →#1 Best Overall
- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
“Moral obligation” is not a legal bill
In this context, “moral obligation” is a political and ethical judgment, not a defined legal requirement. Harrell’s reported remarks did not set a dollar amount, deadline, recipient, or enforcement mechanism. They did not accuse either company of violating the law or say that either makes no charitable contributions.
“Give back” could refer to several different things: charitable grants, employee volunteering, affordable-housing investment, support for local nonprofits or public services, job commitments, or simply paying taxes already required by law. Those are not interchangeable. A donation is voluntary; a tax is compulsory under law; jobs and supplier spending are economic activity rather than charitable giving. The remarks, as reported, do not specify which form Harrell wants.
Rank #2
- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
What companies already owe Seattle under tax law
Seattle’s Payroll Expense Tax—often called the JumpStart tax—is an existing employer tax, not a tax paid directly by employees. It applies to qualifying businesses based on Seattle payroll expense and compensation thresholds. For tax year 2026, the city lists a threshold of at least $9,074,409 in Seattle payroll expense during 2025 and at least one Seattle employee with annual compensation of $194,452 or more in 2026. Thresholds and rates can vary by year; check the city’s current Payroll Expense Tax guidance for applicable rules.
The tax took effect January 1, 2021, with initial payments due in January 2022. Seattle says the proceeds support responses to the affordable-housing crisis, homelessness, rental assistance, nonprofit affordable housing, grocery assistance, and small-business needs. The city’s Director’s Rule 5-980 describes the tax’s start and intended uses.
Rank #3
- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
Seattle’s 2026 adopted budget reports payroll-expense-tax obligations of about $297 million for 2021, $266 million for 2022, $315 million for 2023, and $359 million for 2024. Those are the budget’s figures for obligations—not a comparison of what Amazon or Microsoft individually paid. The budget says rates increased beginning in 2024. See the 2026 adopted budget for the city’s figures and context.
Seattle’s Social Housing Tax
Voters approved Seattle’s Social Housing Tax in a special election on February 11, 2025. It is a 5% tax on qualifying compensation above $1 million paid in Seattle to an employee; it applies to the excess compensation, not the worker’s entire salary. It is a payroll-related tax, not a tax on company profits. The city explains the tax on its Social Housing Tax page.
Rank #4
- Meet Echo Dot Max: Experience rich room-filling sound that automatically adapts to your space and fine-tunes playback. Features a built-in smart home hub and Omnisense technology for highly personalized experiences.
- Music to your ears: With nearly 3x the bass versus Echo Dot (2022 release), it fits beautifully in any space, delivering your personal sound stage with deep bass and enhanced clarity. Listen to streaming services, such as Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify, and SiriusXM. Encore!
- Do more with device pairing: Connect compatible Echo smart speakers and smart displays in different rooms, or pair with a second Echo Dot Max to enjoy even richer sound. Pair your Echo Dot Max with compatible Fire TV devices to create a home theater system that brings scenes to life.
- Simple smart home control: Set routines, pair and control lights, locks, and thousands of smart home devices that work with Alexa without needing a separate smart home hub. With Omnisense technology, you can activate routines via temperature or presence detection.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot Max doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
From the 2018 head-tax fight to current taxes
Seattle approved a per-employee tax on large businesses in 2018 and repealed it shortly afterward. The city later adopted the JumpStart payroll tax, followed by rate increases beginning in 2024, and voters approved the Social Housing Tax in 2025. That history helps explain why a mayoral appeal to corporate generosity can quickly become part of a larger argument about taxes, jobs, and the cost of city services.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Microsoft reports giving in Washington
Microsoft says that in 2024 the company and its employees contributed more than $100 million in cash to Washington nonprofits, volunteered more than 400,000 hours, and contributed more than $50 million in technology to nonprofits in the state. The company also reports more than $1.75 billion in lifetime cash contributions in Washington. These are Microsoft-reported totals, not independently audited figures presented here, and they cover Washington state—not Seattle alone. Details are on Microsoft’s Washington community page.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
Best Value
- Meet Echo Studio: Redesigned in a compact size that is 40% smaller than the original to deliver immersive spatial sound. Dolby Atmos adds space, clarity, and depth to make your entertainment even better. Enjoy powerful bass and crystal-clear vocals. Features a built-in smart home hub and Omnisense technology for highly personalized experiences.
- It's like a concert in your living room: Experience immersive sound thanks to spatial audio and Dolby Atmos in a compact design that fits easily into any living space. With room adaptation technology, Echo Studio analyzes the acoustics of your room, fine-tuning playback for optimal sound no matter where it's placed.
- Create your ultimate entertainment center: Play music across multiple Echo devices for multi-room music, or pair with a second Echo Studio for even more powerful sound. Pair your Echo Studio with compatible Fire TV devices to create an Alexa home theater that makes that explosion or sound track come to life in Dolby Atmos.
- Simple smart home control: Set routines, pair and control lights, locks, and thousands of devices that work with Alexa without needing a separate smart home hub. With Omnisense technology, you can activate routines via temperature or presence detection.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering: With eero Built-in, Echo Studio doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
Geography matters when evaluating any “give back” claim. Microsoft is headquartered in Redmond, not Seattle; the statewide figures cannot be described as money returned specifically to Seattle. Amazon is headquartered in Seattle, but the available reporting does not provide a current, comparable Seattle-only giving total or a company response to Harrell’s remarks. Without such figures, a side-by-side contribution comparison would imply more certainty than the evidence supports.
Why Seattle’s debate reaches beyond donations
Large technology employers affect more than charitable budgets. Their jobs and payroll influence the city tax base; workers and suppliers support restaurants and other businesses; offices affect commercial real estate and transit use; and employment growth can intensify housing demand. Seattle’s 2026 budget notes that how major companies create and allocate jobs affects payroll-expense-tax revenue.
Amazon’s Seattle headquarters and Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters also sit in different municipal tax jurisdictions. Bellevue and Redmond are major technology employment centers, but they are outside Seattle’s city limits. A regional contribution may benefit people across Washington while not appearing as a Seattle-only investment, and a company’s statewide or regional footprint should not be mistaken for its Seattle payroll-tax base.
The case for and against asking companies to do more
Why supporters see a civic responsibility
- Large employers benefit from the region’s workforce, infrastructure, institutions, transportation, and quality of life.
- Housing pressures and other costs associated with economic growth can fall on residents and local governments as well as businesses.
- Corporate investment may be able to support targeted projects or nonprofits more quickly than public budgeting.
- Visible local commitments could build trust and reduce pressure for additional taxes, if companies and the city agree on useful, measurable goals.
Why critics worry about the framing
- Companies already pay taxes required by law and support economic activity through wages, jobs, and suppliers; those contributions should be counted separately from donations.
- A vague appeal for private money can sound open-ended, without specifying priorities, governance, or public accountability.
- Additional costs could affect where companies place jobs and offices, although the reported remarks do not establish that Seattle taxes caused a particular employment shift.
- Private philanthropy is not subject to the same democratic budget process as public revenue, and companies should not substitute for city responsibility for services and policy.
What a concrete proposal would need to answer
A workable civic partnership would need to say what “give back” means and how the public could judge its results. A voluntary housing fund, nonprofit grants, transit support, workforce training, or a public-realm investment would each have different beneficiaries, timelines, and oversight needs. A new tax or fee would instead require a defined legal proposal and public debate.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
For any program, residents would need to know who controls the money, which geographic area it serves, how projects are selected, whether contributions are additional to existing commitments, and how outcomes are reported. Without those terms, Harrell’s statement remains a broad appeal rather than a policy plan.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
