As a mother of two school-aged children, I fear for their
future. I fear that my two boys will not have the same opportunities
I had when I came to this country with my parents back in
1963. I fear they will not be able to get a good education
and go to our neighborhood schools. I fear that even if
they are lucky enough to get a good education, they will
not be able to get a job and live here because those jobs
have gone overseas. I fear that my children will have to
move out of our beloved City when they are grown because
they cannot afford to stay. I fear that when I am old and
retired, there will no longer be any Social Security benefits
and safety network to rely upon because our government has
squander away our tax dollars and mortgaged our future away.
I'm tired of being afraid because our future is too valuable
for someone else to waste. Ordinary people like you and
me must take a stand and say stop squeezing the working
and middle class. Business as usual is not acceptable. If
it's not working, then we must change. If it's not
worth it, then we will not pay. Our leadership has failed
us so we must look toward ourselves to lead.
Let's start with understanding how we are being led down
the wrong path. Look at our bloated $5 billion budget and
how City Hall is proposing to solve the financial mess we
are in by proposing more taxes. Let's examine the city's
policies and propositions on the November ballot.
San Francisco's business community already pays a high
price for doing business in the anti-business climate created
by our Board of Supervisors. Many large corporations have
either left or decided to leave the City in the near future,
taking thousands of jobs and tax revenues with them. Small
businesses, the backbone of our economy, are now under attack.
Two propositions, J and K, will kill our neighborhood businesses.
Proposition K would add yet another cost of doing business
by imposing a gross receipts tax of one-tenth of one percent
on all businesses with receipts totaling $500,000 or more
annually. This might seem to be a rational amount from which
to define and exempt small businesses, but you should first
realize that this exclusion is calculated on gross receipts,
not net receipts (profits). In other words, there is no
deduction for salaries and expenses in the calculation and
determination of status. Even if a business is losing money,
it must pay this tax.
A business could be paying 1.5 percent on its payroll and
yet be taxed again on the same payroll because the tax paid
cannot be deducted from the gross receipts tax on which
the additional one-tenth of one percent is calculated. Proposition
K is double taxation for business and grossly unfair. If
it isn't illegal, it should be.
According to examples provided by the small business community,
a service station's gross receipts are about $6 million
annually. A hardware store or property management firm can
expect to take in $2 million. In addition to the 1.5 percent
payroll tax they already pay, along with high commercial
rents and escalating insurance costs, Proposition K seeks
to exact another $2,000 - $6,000 annually from these vital
members of our community. While $6,000 may not be much to
a downtown law firm, this tax, in combination with other
increases, such as sewer rates, insurance, worker's compensation
and sales taxes, may break a small business.
November's ballot also features Proposition J, which will
increase the sales tax to 8.75 percent, equaling the highest
rate in the Bay Area. As evidenced by the empty storefronts
in the Richmond, small businesses are already hurting badly
in this economy. Let's not make it worse.
If we want our small businesses to stay in San Francisco
and thrive, we must vote no on propositions K and J.
Please give me your vote Nov. 2.
