Taxes

By Memo Morantes

Measures T, U, and X are tax proposals that will place a 2.5% business license tax on vehicle car rentals; increase the Transit Occupancy Tax from 10-12% and create an 8% business license tax on commercial parking facility operators. The proposed taxes on car rentals and parking lots were already placed before the voters in 2008 with each being voted down.

Though I applaud interest in finding some creative ways for generating revenue to help us with our budget deficits, these are not the correct means to achieve our desired end.

These taxes run counter to what a lot of us are discussing in this campaign + drawing in new businesses and developing collaborative public-private partnerships to drive our economic engine. How can we rightfully pursue this endeavor if we're trying to take money away from a select group of businesses who are some of our strongest allies with tourism, hospitality and entertainment? It's as if we're extending one hand in friendship while the other sifts through their wallets. And while I know some would argue that these businesses will just pass the car rental and parking lot tax on to the consumer, does that make it any better?

If we truly want to commit ourselves towards strengthening our economy then we need to partner with all of our businesses and seek out a more clever way to draw in money from tourism, hospitality and entertainment without burdening the business community.

The money that these taxes hope to accumulate is small potatoes + from $200,000 with the transit occupancy tax to $7.75 million with the vehicle license tax + compared to what the industry we plan on punishing brings to us. For instance, it is estimated that tourism, hospitality, and entertainment provide 67,000 jobs and more than $8 billion to the Bay Area. This is an industry that we need to work with rather than against to help us drive the economic engine. Instead of punishing them and punishing out-of-town tourists who are being forced to pay taxes from ballot that they're not even allowed to have a say, we should be partnering with them to find new and creative ways to forge successful public-private partnerships. As the saying goes, you can get more flies with honey than you can with vinegar. And these taxes definitely leave a bad taste in all of our mouths.

Measure T + Vehicle Business License Tax 2.5% tax on vehicle rental in unincorporated county. This measure would raise roughly $7.75 million. Voted down in 2008

Measure U + Transit Occupancy Tax 2% increase in unincorporated county from 10-12%

Raising an additional $200,000.

Measure X - Business License Tax on Commercial Parking Facility Operators 8% tax on parking lots in unincorporated county. Voted down in 2008