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Supervisors advance vacancy tax measure to March 2020 ballot after hours of debate
Summary
The Budget & Finance Committee voted to forward Supervisor Aaron Peskin’s amended proposal for a neighborhood storefront vacancy tax to a special meeting, with supervisors and analysts weighing exemptions, enforcement and economic risk. Supporters said the tiered tax will push 'bad actor' landlords to lease space; critics warned small businesses could bear costs.
The San Francisco Budget & Finance Committee on Tuesday advanced a measure that would place a vacancy tax on the March 3, 2020 ballot to target long‑term ground‑floor retail vacancies in Neighborhood Commercial Districts and neighborhood commercial transit districts.
Supervisor Aaron Peskin, the measure’s author, presented amendments that would make the assessment avoidable in many cases: a tiered tax of $250 per linear foot in year one, $500 in year two and $1,000 in year three and beyond for ground‑floor space left inactive for more than 182 days. Peskin said the tax is designed as an incentive, not a revenue grab: "If a property owner has a choice between being assessed this tax or reducing rents to a reasonable rate ... that would be a really good thing," he said.
Teddy Egan of the Controller’s Office, who…
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