Nov. 14, 2025 — Redmond, Wash. Nikhil Singhal, owner of Om Spark, a 13-year-old online marketing firm specializing in SEO, web design, and ads for small businesses, closed his company due to Washington’s $9 billion tax package passed earlier in 2025.
Singhal cited hikes to the business and occupation (B&O) tax and a new retail sales tax on digital ads as the breaking point, which eroded the firm’s thin 5-8% profit margins and effectively consumed 30% of its income, according to a FOX 13 Seattle report.
“The math simply doesn’t add up,”
Singhal told FOX 13, also criticizing the rushed legislative process that allowed less debate than on the state bird.
The taxes took effect Oct. 1, 2025, following passage of the package in May, described as the largest in state history by some accounts, with expansions to B&O and sales taxes impacting businesses and consumers (engage.oneredmond.org; Ballard Spahr).
In a companion FOX 13 video report uploaded Nov. 15 with over 51,000 views, Singhal detailed how a typical $500 monthly client fee for SEO services would rise to $530 due to the taxes, amid a lack of guidance from the state Department of Revenue.
FOX 13 Seattle video report featuring Nikhil Singhal’s interview on the tax impacts. (Screenshot from YouTube)
Singhal predicted ripple effects on more than 600,000 Washington small businesses, excluding giants like Amazon and Microsoft. His LinkedIn profile lists his role at Om Spark from April 2013 to October 2025 in the Seattle-Redmond area.
The closure was not isolated; FOX 13 also reported Seattle ad agency Project Bionic, in business for 16 years, shutting down for similar reasons.
Washington House Republicans referenced the story on their Capitol Buzz site, framing it as evidence that small businesses were unheard amid 2026 tax debates.
A post in the Facebook group “Jay Inslee Can Suck It” summarized the Om Spark closure, attributing it to the B&O hike and digital ad tax (Facebook). A related FOX video from December highlighted businesses’ fears of job losses from the package (YouTube).
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