Today, SF Mayor Ed Lee joined with his political rival to announce a grand compromise for overhauling San Francisco’s business tax that will result in a single measure going before voters in November. If approved, the ballot measure will change how the city levies its often-criticized business tax, which brought in $410 million last year and is the second-biggest source of money for the general spending account behind property taxes (which generated $1 billion last year).
Supervisor John Avalos, who had been pushing a competing tax measure, has agreed to merge his proposal with the Mayor’s. The merged plan which is expected to produce an additional $28.5 million in business taxes for the City’s coffers.
Supporters of the new tax measure include labor and business groups often at odds over policy, including the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce and the city’s largest public employee union, the Service Employees International Union Local 1021. The Small Business Commission and the Labor Council are also supporting the measure.
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