The Great Insurance Heist That Never Was
Seattle business leaders mobilize to fight an illegal insurance rate hike based on a nonexistent tax.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Quite an excitement was caused among business men on Friday by the receipt of notice from local insurance agents that the Pacific Insurance Union had raised the rates in consequence of the imposition by the legislature of a 2 percent tax on gross premiums. The excitement gave place to laughter at the expense of the combine when it was found that no such tax had been imposed, and the union, being informed that it had acted on misinformation, rescinded the order. The circular, which caused the scare, was issued by W. S. Duval, general manager in San Francisco. It claimed expenses for fire insurance in Washington had increased due to a new tax. However, the new revenue law only provides for the taxation of net premiums. With Senator W. R. Forrest, who defeated the movement to tax gross premiums, County Auditor Twicheli, and local agents, a telegram was sent to Duval. Yesterday, an answer was received stating the circular had been annulled.
“The excitement gave place to laughter at the expense of the combine when it was found that no such tax had been imposed.”
This 1893 episode mirrors modern Seattle's recurring anxieties over utility and insurance monopolies inflating costs based on regulatory 'uncertainty.' Just as businesses organized to debunk the tax myth, today's citizens remain wary of corporate 'combines' seeking to pass costs onto the public under false pretenses.
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