Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
San Francisco To Consider Taxing Companies To Help Homeless
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
July 17, 2018

Share

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco voters will decide in November whether to tax large businesses to pay for homeless and housing services, an issue that set off a battle in another West Coast city struggling with income inequality.
The city elections department verified Monday that supporters had collected enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot. It would raise about $300 million a year — doubling what San Francisco spends on homelessness — for more shelter beds and housing for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming so.
The money would come from an average half-percent tax increase on companies’ revenue above $50 million each year.

Homelessness Is Big Problem For West Coast Cities

Homelessness is a major problem in San Francisco, as well as other cities on the West Coast with growing numbers of high-paying tech jobs that price lower-income residents out of a shrinking housing supply. San Francisco’s new mayor, London Breed, vowed to clear the streets of its tent camps within a year of taking office.
“I think the city is really ready for this,” said Christin Evans, a San Francisco small-business owner and one of three petitioners on the measure. “We have a lot of momentum behind us, and more than a majority of the voting population is renters. We’re polling very well.”
Seattle leaders last month repealed a tax on large employers that was meant to fund homelessness services after Amazon pushed back.
But south of San Francisco, Mountain View’s City Council got a measure on the November ballot asking voters to authorize a tax on Google and other companies with employees in the Silicon Valley city.
It’s unclear which companies in San Francisco would be affected and how hard by the additional tax on gross receipts. Jim Lazarus, senior vice president of public policy for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, estimates up to 1,000 businesses generate more than $50 million a year.
The companies could include Twitter, which declined to comment Monday. Other companies that could be affected, such as Uber, pharmaceutical distributor McKesson Corp., Google, Apple and Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.
Other businesses that could be affected include department stores, supermarkets, law firms and clothing makers such as Levi Strauss & Co., Lazarus said. The chamber will likely oppose the measure.
Marc Benioff, founder and chief executive of cloud-computing company Salesforce, has urged others in the tech community to help address the city’s problems with homelessness.
The city’s largest tech employer said in a statement that it has given more than $4 million to the cause and that it is “evaluating the potential ballot measure to carefully assess its merits in addressing this important issue.”

San Francisco Voters Previously Approved Universal Childcare

San Francisco voters last month also approved an increase in the gross receipts tax on commercial buildings and warehouses to fund universal childcare.
The upcoming ballot measure is backed by a coalition that includes homelessness and gay rights groups. Up to half of the money raised would go toward permanent housing, from rental subsidies to new housing. Up to a quarter would go toward mental health services.
Jason McDaniel, a political science professor at San Francisco State University, says it is likely to pass unless political leaders band together to block it.
“I suspect that local companies don’t have the same kind of relationship to the political establishment as they do in Seattle,” he said. “There’s no Amazon here. It’s not like a company town.”

DON'T MISS

Big Spenders: These Companies Are Giving the Most to California Legislative Candidates

DON'T MISS

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Drifts Ahead of Election Day, While Oil Rises and Yields Sink

DON'T MISS

Saints Fire Head Coach Dennis Allen After Seven-Game Losing Streak

DON'T MISS

Raiders Fire Offensive Coordinator Luke Getsy and 2 Other Offensive Coaches

DON'T MISS

Storm in the Caribbean Is on a Track to Likely Hit Cuba as a Hurricane

DON'T MISS

Israel Ends Agreement With UN Agency Providing Aid in Gaza

DON'T MISS

Demarcus Robinson’s One-Handed Catch in OT Gives Rams Win Over Seahawks

DON'T MISS

Trump, Musk and an American Masculinity Crisis

DON'T MISS

What One Tossup District Says About the Trump-Harris Battle for the Suburbs

DON'T MISS

Herbert Shines, Chargers Defense Dominates in Win Over Browns

UP NEXT

Immediate Threat: Mussel Invades California’s Delta, First Time in North America

UP NEXT

Lyft Pays $2.1 Million to Settle Case Alleging the Ride-Hailing Service Deceived Drivers

UP NEXT

Southern California County Official Pleads Guilty to Bribery Charge in COVID Funds Scheme

UP NEXT

Visalia Rollerblader Suffered Major Injuries After Being Struck by Vehicle

UP NEXT

Fresno County Man Indicted for Possessing Stolen Guns

UP NEXT

Anti-Semitic Incident at Oakland Cafe Raises Concerns About Rising Intolerance

UP NEXT

Schwarzenegger Endorses Harris, Warns Against Another Trump Term

UP NEXT

Will Noncitizens Be Able to Vote? This California City Will Decide Their Fate

UP NEXT

California Voters Consider Controversial Vacation Homes Tax in Iconic Lake Tahoe Area

UP NEXT

Los Angeles Sees Bus Burned, Store Thefts and Rowdy Crowds After Dodgers Win World Series

Raiders Fire Offensive Coordinator Luke Getsy and 2 Other Offensive Coaches

14 mins ago

Storm in the Caribbean Is on a Track to Likely Hit Cuba as a Hurricane

17 mins ago

Israel Ends Agreement With UN Agency Providing Aid in Gaza

22 mins ago

Demarcus Robinson’s One-Handed Catch in OT Gives Rams Win Over Seahawks

48 mins ago

Trump, Musk and an American Masculinity Crisis

52 mins ago

What One Tossup District Says About the Trump-Harris Battle for the Suburbs

1 hour ago

Herbert Shines, Chargers Defense Dominates in Win Over Browns

1 hour ago

US Confirms Reports That Iran Arrested an Iranian-American Citizen

1 hour ago

A Vivid Trump-Harris Contrast in Campaign’s Grueling Final Days

1 hour ago

Harris and Trump Battle to the Wire in Swing States, Times/Siena Polls Find

1 hour ago

Big Spenders: These Companies Are Giving the Most to California Legislative Candidates

Nearly $100 million has been spent this year by corporate- and labor-funded committees in California legislative races, including more than ...

6 mins ago

6 mins ago

Big Spenders: These Companies Are Giving the Most to California Legislative Candidates

6 mins ago

Stock Market Today: Wall Street Drifts Ahead of Election Day, While Oil Rises and Yields Sink

10 mins ago

Saints Fire Head Coach Dennis Allen After Seven-Game Losing Streak

Raiders
14 mins ago

Raiders Fire Offensive Coordinator Luke Getsy and 2 Other Offensive Coaches

17 mins ago

Storm in the Caribbean Is on a Track to Likely Hit Cuba as a Hurricane

22 mins ago

Israel Ends Agreement With UN Agency Providing Aid in Gaza

Rams
48 mins ago

Demarcus Robinson’s One-Handed Catch in OT Gives Rams Win Over Seahawks

52 mins ago

Trump, Musk and an American Masculinity Crisis

Search

Send this to a friend