Is it tourist season in San Francisco? With the way that the city is poised to take aim at out-of-town residents this November, it seems more like hunting season. San Franciscans will vote on two key ballot measures this election day, Measures J and K, that would mean hefty tax increases on hotels, online travel retailers, and out-of-towners if passed.
Measure J would raise the city’s hotel tax by 2%, as well as altering – to the detriment of consumers and travel companies – how the tax is assessed when rooms are booked online.
2% may not seem like a lot, but keep in mind that San Francisco’s hotel tax currently stands at 14% - the hike would bring it to the highest in the nation.
The initiative has the support of public employees and unions, who say the measure could bring in up to $35 million for the city each year. Democratic mayor Gavin Newsom, however, opposes “J”.
At a luncheon in July, he said the tax was “exactly what New York did wrong… They went forward with so many taxes that they basically stifled imagination, creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship. … The last thing San Francisco wants to do is to get international attention for increasing its hotel tax.”
When even Gavin Newsom is marching along to the anti-tax drum, supporters of Measure J have to wonder what they’ve gotten themselves into. Already a number of organizations have expressed doubts about whether they will hold their already-planned events in the city, pending the outcome of the referendum.
The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce cites, as potential consequences of the legislation, a decrease in tourism, a rise in unemployment among hotel workers, and decreased revenue for the city from money that visitors would otherwise spend on restaurants, souvenirs and other discretionary items.
Measure K, by contrast, would not increase the hotel tax rate – but would increase the amount that travelers who make their reservations through online groups like Expedia or Travelocity pay taxes on. The city bills the measure as closing a “loophole” in the current law, and expect it to generate an additional $6 million a year.
We beg to differ. Measure K, though subtle, is still a tax increase – a tax increase that will hit out-of-city residents, unfairly depending on tourists and businessmen to fund the $522 million-deficit the city has spent itself into.
That seems kind of like ordering the most expensive bottle of wine and sticking your friends with the bill.
Tourist season, indeed.