Palo Alto Business Tax, Measure A (November 2009)
From Ballotpedia
A Palo Alto Business Tax, Measure A was on the November 3, 2009 ballot in Santa Clara County for voters in the City of Palo Alto,where it was defeated.[1]
- Yes: 4,278 (43.58%)
- No: 5,538 (56.42%)
If voters had approved the measure, businesses in Palo Alto would have been required to pay the city a minimum of $75/year over and above the taxes they already pay, plus an extra $35 to $75 per year for each new additional employee. The new tax would go into effect in 2011. The tax will be based on how many employees a business has, not on how much (or how little) profit the business makes. Some businesses would have to pay as much as $30,000 more in taxes every year under the proposed measure.
Some businesses would have been exempt. These include residential landlords renting fewer than three units, and non-profit organizations with fewer than 100 employees.[2]
The Palo Alto City Council, which voted to put Measure A on the ballot, believes that it will raise $3 million in new taxes for the city.[3]
Supporters
Supporters of Measure A believed that it would give city politicians more money and that, if they had more money, politicians would do something about the city's backlog of repairs, maintenance and general infrastructure.[4]
Opposition
Skip Justman formed a group called Small Business Against Taxes to oppose the new tax. Justman is also the chair of the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce's Government Action Committee.[5]
The group developed a fact sheet in which it laid out its arguments against Measure A.[3] Arguments included:
- "Measure A will create a business license tax in Palo Alto written by the city to benefit large corporations and will unfairly burden our city's small businesses".[3]
- If Measure A passes, it will charge multi-billion-dollar corporations a lower rate per employee than small businesses. [3]
- Manufacturing firms would pay $34 per employee while professional service businesses would pay $95 per employee.[3]
- The city's largest corporations will pay lower rates than medium-sized businesses.[3]
Ballot question
The question on the ballot was, "Shall the Palo Alto Municipal Code be amended to establish a business license tax in order to help maintain the City’s ability to fund basic City services?"
See also
External links
References
- ↑ The Mercury News, "Palo Alto council OKs business tax ballot measure", June 23, 2009
- ↑ The Santa Cruz Sentinel, "Palo Alto staff push business tax toward ballot", May 30, 2009
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Mercury News, "Palo Alto business tax foes step up campaign", September 5, 2009
- ↑ CBS 5, "Palo Alto Set to Vote on Business Tax"
- ↑ Daily News, "Opposition to business tax takes shape", August 5, 2009
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