Residents of San Francisco, California will vote on Nov. 6 whether a proposed business tax called Proposition C could be implemented in the city.
Proposition C, if passed, would require all big businesses with headquarters in the city to pay taxes that are to be collected with the specific purpose of supporting programs that will reduce homelessness in San Francisco.
Under the proposed bill, companies with more than $50 million in gross annual receipts would have to pay a tax of less than 1 percent. Companies with more than $1 billion in gross annual receipts would be asked to pay a tax of 1.5 percent.
Proposition C is expected to generate nearly $300 million annually if it could be implemented in 2019. Fifty percent of this or $150 million will be spent in building permanent housing. Twenty-five percent or $75 million will be allotted to services for people with mental health conditions.
Twelve percent or $40 million will be for programs that help people who are just "one disaster away" from being homeless. For instance, a household that needs legal assistance to retain housing rights or to pay hefty electrical bills that piled over time.
There are an estimated 7,500 homeless people in San Francisco and more than half of them had resided in the city for at least 10 years.
On the other hand, if "yes" votes win for Proposition C, there are at least 400 businesses that would pay the homeless tax by next year.
Among big companies headquartered in San Francisco are Wells Fargo, Gap, and Uber which all have yet to comment on the issue. Utility Pacific Gas & Electric said officials have yet to reach a consensus.
Companies that have voiced out their objections were headed by online payment processing company Stripe and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce. The latter has a board comprised of officials of Microsoft, LinkedIn, and Oracle.
The Committee on Jobs thinks Proposition C was "flawed" according to CBS News.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said elected Mayor London Breed is the utmost authority to decide how homelessness in the city should be addressed. The mayor, meanwhile, opposed the bill over worries that it could attract more homeless persons from nearby districts. The scenario could impact the local economy negatively, the mayor said.
Of the more than 100 supporting a "yes" vote for the bill is Marc Benioff, the founder of tech giants Salesforce. His company could pay as much as $10 million additional taxes annually if the bill is passed. Still, he called on San Francisco's other billionaires to support Proposition C and to donate more for the campaign. Benioff has already donated about $2 million for the bill's campaign program.
Others who support Proposition C include Chuck Robbins, CEO of Cisco Systems, and Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader of the United States of House of representatives.
