League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	San Francisco County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Proposition K Hotel Tax Clarification and Definitions County of San Francisco Ordinance - Majority Approval Required Fail: 95357 / 38.53% Yes votes ...... 152159 / 61.47% No votes See Also: Index of all Propositions

Arguments For Proposition K

Arguments Against Proposition K

Hotel Tax Clarification - It's Good Government and Responsible Revenue Prop K closes the tax loophole for online hotel reservations. Prop K ensures that the City receives the full amount of tax owed on a hotel room. Here's how it works: A customer pays $150 online for a hotel room and pays 14% hotel tax (plus 1%-1.5% assessment) on that $150 to the online travel company. But the online travel company only paid the hotel $100 for that room. And while the hotel tax is due on the full $150, the online travel company is only remitting tax on the $100 it paid to the hotel. That's not fair. This measure will fix this loophole and give San Franciscan's what we are owed. The City loses approximately $12 million in annual revenue from this loophole. Many jurisdictions are pursuing this underpayment in court. It's a matter of fairness: Prop K ensures everyone abides by our laws and pays their fair share. This measure would NOT increase the Hotel Tax by 2%. The hotel tax was effectively already raised in December 2008. Hotels worked with the Mayor and Board of Supervisor to create a Tourism Improvement District, which imposes a 1%-1.5% assessment on all San Francisco hotel stays. Hotel guests are currently paying 15% to 15.5% already! The assessment allowed the City to stop funding the Convention and Visitors Bureau - returning $8 million annually to the City. Prop J (another measure on the ballot) violates this agreement and levies a job-killing tax on the City's largest revenue generating industry. VOTE YES on Prop K. VOTE NO on J. Mayor Gavin Newsom José Cisneros, Treasurer* Supervisor Sean Elsbernd Supervisor Carmen Chu* Supervisor Bevan Dufty For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization. Rebuttal to Arguments For Don't swallow the poison pill. Vote NO on K and YES on J. We all agree on closing loopholes used by hotel internet booking companies and the airline industry. We can do exactly that by voting NO on K and Yes on J. Yes on J is hotel fairness. 5 million tourists come to San Francisco every year. We are + and always will be + the most attractive city in America. Most visitors will tell you: a temporary surcharge of $3 per night is a bargain if it helps fund a more reliable Muni, ensures that homeless services are available, and keeps city streets clean and safe. Visitors use city services, too. San Franciscans have endured cuts in schools, Muni, safety and health care. City employees have taken a voluntary $250 million pay cut. Shouldn't the 5 million visitors to San Francisco pay their fair share of rising costs? It takes two votes to save vital services. Yes on J and No on K is supported by the San Francisco Democratic Party, San Francisco teachers, California nurses, and the Sierra Club. Please join us and vote Yes on J and No on K. Martha Hawthorne, Public Health Nurse* Claire Merced, Public School Teacher* Assemblyman Tom Ammiano Board of Supervisors President David Chiu California Nurses Association United Educators of San Francisco Sierra Club For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization.

PROP K IS A POISON PILL. There's only one reason hotel corporations put Proposition K on the ballot + to confuse and deceive voters about a community ballot measure called Proposition J. This is the story. Last spring, San Francisco residents launched a community petition drive to save vital city services. Over 15,000 San Franciscans signed the petition to place Proposition J on the ballot. Proposition J imposes a temporary 2% surcharge on hotel rooms + an average of $3 per night. It doesn't cost residents a penny, but will help fund MUNI, police, fire and other services used by both visitors and residents. Hotel owners could have simply opposed Proposition J. Instead, they are trying to deceive and manipulate voters with Prop K. While seeming innocent enough on the surface, Prop K contains hidden language + known as a poison pill + which, if it passes, will effectively kill Prop J. The owners behind this deceptive measure will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to confuse the issues. Don't be fooled! These are the facts: Proposition K is nothing but a poison pill created by hotel owners aimed at killing Prop J, the temporary hotel surcharge which saves vital city services. Proposition K is opposed by the San Francisco Democratic Party, San Francisco teachers, nurses and health care advocates. Proposition K will take away the opportunity to fund vital services we use and rely on including MUNI, schools and health care. This year, say NO to deceptive politics and YES to saving city services. REMEMBER + IT TAKES TWO VOTES TO SAVE VITAL SERVICES: YES on J, NO on K! Martha Hawthorne, Public Health Nurse* Claire Merced, Public School Teacher Supervisor Eric Mar California Nurses Association United Educators of San Francisco Sierra Club For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization. Rebuttal to Arguments Against Vote Yes on K. Proposition K is good government and responsible revenue. Proposition K will clarify the hotel tax and add an additional $12 million per year to the general fund without raising taxes and costing local jobs. We put Proposition K on the ballot because internet travel companies are currently refusing to pay the City what we are owed - they claim the law is unclear. We think the law is crystal clear, but Proposition K will definitively clarify our rules. Proposition K will raise revenue. Proposition K will ensure that online travel companies don't keep our tax money. Proposition K won't cost the City jobs. YES ON K. NO ON J. Mayor Gavin Newsom Treasurer José Cisneros* Supervisor Sean Elsbernd Supervisor Carmen Chu Supervisor Bevan Dufty For identification purposes only; author is signing as an individual and not on behalf of an organization.