Mayor Lee & Board President Chiu’s Joint Statement on San Francisco Business Tax Reform
Mayor Edwin M. Lee and Board of Supervisors President David Chiu today issued the following joint statement after the City Controller released a report on alternatives to the City’s current business tax:
“After months of thorough analysis, economic modeling and inclusive outreach to our City’s diverse business community, the City Controller and City Economist have produced a report that evaluates a gross receipts tax, a promising alternative to our current payroll tax, which punishes companies for growing and creating new jobs in our City.
Unlike our current payroll tax, a gross receipts tax would deliver stable and growing revenue to fund vital city services, while promoting job growth and continued economic recovery for San Francisco. There is growing momentum to reform our tax system this November so we tax businesses based on their profits and earnings, not the jobs they create. The report identifies several important policy and technical issues that we, as policymakers, must now consider as we develop a measure to take to the voters this November.
We want to thank City Controller Ben Rosenfield and City Economist Ted Egan and their staff for their outstanding, impartial analysis and evaluation these last six months and the transparent, inclusive process they have led. This report provides an excellent framework and roadmap for bringing tax reform and tax fairness to the voters this November, and we look forward to working with the rest of the Board of Supervisors and with business and community leaders from throughout our City to consider these issues in the weeks ahead.”
“After months of thorough analysis, economic modeling and inclusive outreach to our City’s diverse business community, the City Controller and City Economist have produced a report that evaluates a gross receipts tax, a promising alternative to our current payroll tax, which punishes companies for growing and creating new jobs in our City.
Unlike our current payroll tax, a gross receipts tax would deliver stable and growing revenue to fund vital city services, while promoting job growth and continued economic recovery for San Francisco. There is growing momentum to reform our tax system this November so we tax businesses based on their profits and earnings, not the jobs they create. The report identifies several important policy and technical issues that we, as policymakers, must now consider as we develop a measure to take to the voters this November.
We want to thank City Controller Ben Rosenfield and City Economist Ted Egan and their staff for their outstanding, impartial analysis and evaluation these last six months and the transparent, inclusive process they have led. This report provides an excellent framework and roadmap for bringing tax reform and tax fairness to the voters this November, and we look forward to working with the rest of the Board of Supervisors and with business and community leaders from throughout our City to consider these issues in the weeks ahead.”