4 ms·
> Before covid SF actively did it's best to antagonize the companies who's tax revenue it relied on. I think that's a misleading characterization. The city not
by abeppu 4y ago
> Before covid SF actively did it's best to antagonize the companies who's tax revenue it relied on.
I think that's a misleading characterization. The city notoriously gave tax breaks to large tech companies, accompanied by some weak rhetoric about supporting local communities, but with weak or no oversight confirming any real local benefits.
I also think it's important to distinguish between _office space_ and _retail space_. Retail and restaurant spaces will also struggle to get filled if neighborhood office workers are getting catered in-office lunch, getting delivery from ghost kitchens, and buying goods from amazon etc. I.e. the way we live and work increasingly supports the Zombieland street-level experience.
- bpodgursky 4y ago> The city notoriously gave tax breaks to large tech companies The city notoriously set up large and complex taxes on tech companies in SF and then randomly and unpredictably granted breaks to the ones that had the best lobbying. > accompanied by some weak rhetoric about supporting local communities And billions of dollars sent into homeless slush funds for activists and nonprofits with no accountability for how the money was spent. > no oversight confirming any real local benefits Accurate
- abeppu 4y ago> And billions of dollars sent into homeless slush funds for activists and nonprofits with no accountability for how the money was spent. I'm not claiming that the city spends responsibly, but next month SF will at least vote on a ballot measure which would create an oversight commission for HSH spending and programs, and require audits of services provided. We have an opportunity to improve things.
- ciguy 4y agoNo, the city is a notoriously high tax, hostile and bureaucratic hellscape when it comes to running any kind of business. Just because they are corrupt and hand out a few token tax breaks to their richest cronies doesn't make them business friendly.
- fragmede 4y agoI don't know, on balance, which way it tilts, but 2018 Prop-C is an example of such antagonizing. At least one company moved HQ out of the city for that reason. https://ballotpedia.org/San_Francisco,_California,_Proposition_C,_Gross_Receipts_Tax_for_Homelessness_Services_(November_2018)#:~:text=Proposition%20C%20was%20designed%20to,Business%20and%20Tax%20Regulations%20Code https://ballotpedia.org/San_Francisco,_California,_Propositi....
- bombcar 4y agoDid it at least work? I assume that homelessness in SF is now a thing of unhappy memory...