Dear sf.citi members,
I hope you are getting ready for a wonderful holiday. Ahead of the holiday, I’d like to share several pertinent updates.
First, please see below for a brief update on pieces of local legislation that sf.citi is tracking on your behalf. Second, sf.citi will be hosting a call on Wednesday, July 10th to discuss all three taxes that are slated for the November 2019 ballot, including recent polling data information. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
sf.citi Members Call re: Ballot
Wednesday, July 10th
10:00-10:30am
Call: 415-429-8325
Gross Receipts Tax Reform
- This morning, Mayor Breed and President Yee publicly announced their intention to develop a measure for the November 2020 ballot to reform the GRT system. As you recall, the GRT was passed as a revenue-neutral reform, meaning it was intended to fully replace the payroll tax. The GRT phase-in, however, has resulted in a trailing payroll tax, and will thus require a ballot measure to reform the measure to restructure the rate table to meet the business tax revenue goals of the City. Numerous Supervisors supported the announcement, including Supervisors Mandelman, Mar, Peskin, Safai, and Stefani.
- sf.citi and other members of the business community led the original GRT campaign measure in 2012 and are deeply committed to the success of the reform. We will be a key stakeholder in the discussion of this new measure and look forward to working with our partners on this.
Stock-Based Compensation Tax
- The 30-Day Rule has expired for Supervisor Mar’s Stock-Based Compensation Tax and we can expect to see this discussed at an upcoming Budget and Finance Subcommittee meeting. This committee meets on Wednesdays at 1PM weekly and we’ve received intel that this item will likely be heard on Wednesday, July 10th 2019. Based on a recent Vox article that point to his comments on specifying the intent of the legislation, we can expect that Supervisor Mar will have amendments to offer, such as changes to the small business components and specific direction on when stock-based compensation would be subject to taxation.
Traffic Congestion Mitigation Tax
- The 30-Day Rule has also expired for Supervisor Peskin’s “TNC Tax”, an effort to tax Transportation Network Companies (TNC), Autonomous Vehicles, and Private Transit Services Vehicles. This item is currently under the Budget and Finance Subcommittee, which meets on Wednesdays at 10AM weekly. While the item has not been calendared in an upcoming agenda, sf.citi is closely monitoring and keeping track of the legislation and will send updates when available.
“CEO” Tax/Mental Health SF
- Lastly, sf.citi is tracking local legislation that aims to operate in tandem, Mental Health SF and the “CEO Tax”, both introduced by Supervisors Ronen and Haney. The Mental Health SF legislation is an effort to establish a universal mental health program designed to provide access to mental health services, substance use treatment, and psychiatric medications to all San Franciscans. Intended to go before voters in the November 2019 ballot, this legislation would require 50+1 votes in order to pass. Currently, this item is under 30-Day Rule and will be heard at the Rules Committee likely on or after the week of July 8th, 2019.
- As for the “CEO Tax”, the legislation was introduced with the intention to be one of the many funding sources of Mental Health SF and is also under the 30-Day Rule and will likely be heard on or after the week of July 8th, 2019. This legislation would impose an additional gross receipts tax and administrative office tax on businesses with an Executive Pay Ratio ratio of that exceeds 100:1. As you all are aware of, sf.citi hosted a meeting with Supervisors Ronen and Haney in June to discuss both pieces of legislation, and the Supervisors have offered to work with sf.citi to make amendments and answer any questions our members have. We have gathered feedback that we’ve been getting from member companies and compiled a list of questions for Supervisor Haney’s office to answer. As always, once we hear back from the Supervisor’s office we will connect with you all.
- For reference, the deadlines for submissions to the November election are as follows:
July 8 — Deadline to submit initiative petitions to the Department of Elections to qualify an ordinance, declaration of policy, or charter amendment for the ballot.
July 26 — Deadline for the Board of Supervisors to submit Charter amendments and bond measures to the Department of Elections.
August 2 — Deadline for the submission of ordinances or declarations of policy proposed by a majority of the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor, or four or more members of the Board of Supervisors.
Gig Economy Hearing
- Last Friday, the Board of Supervisors convened for a hearing on the Status of Gig Economy Worker Rights in California. During the hearing, Supervisors Mandelman, Stefani, Walton and Mar heard presentations from Patrick Mulligan, the Director of the Office of Labor Standards
Enforcement, Miles Locker, an attorney for the state Labor Commissioner’s Office, and Ken Jacobs of the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education.
The general sentiment of the roughly 30 individuals who spoke during Public Comment was in support of gig economy workers. They argued for their desire to be identified as employees, access to living wages, general transparency, and basic employee benefits and rights. In
general, all but one public speaker were in support of AB5 / Dynamex. - During final discussions amongst Supervisors on the committee, Supervisor Stefani mentioned she was moved by personal stories and that she would look to the full Board of Supervisors to support AB5 in an effort to mitigate rising income inequality. Supervisor Walton concluded with
similar sentiments, mentioning he was “disgusted” by the behavior of some gig economy companies and vowed to protect and prioritize San Francisco residents that identify as gig workers, despite San Francisco’s constraints by state laws.
- Lastly, Supervisor Mandelman mentioned he believed there were many well-intentioned individuals in the tech industry who did not foresee this outcome but reemphasized his view on the current regression of labor laws. Supervisor Mandelman stated his intention to introduce a resolution in support of AB5/Dynamex, and that he has been in conversations with the City Attorney to explore “every legal remedy” to provide protections for workers, residents, and small businesses.
Thank you for your continued support and membership. Look forward to speaking with you all next week.
Comments are closed.