UPDATE: BOMA San Francisco Opposes Proposition J - The Hotel Tax

Click here to view this video on YouTube

BOMA San Francisco OPPOSES Proposition J - the Hotel Tax - on the November 2, 2010 ballot.

This tax increase proposal would raise the tax rate on San Francisco’s local hotels by 2%, bringing the total tax rate to 16%, plus a 1.5% tourism marketing fee added to most hotel bills brining the total to 17.5%.   The current tax rate of 15.5% is already the 6th highest in the nation and this proposal would make San Francisco’s hotel tax rate the highest. This tax will be passed on to hotel guests, driving up nightly rates and putting San Francisco’s critical tourism industry at a severe competitive disadvantage with other regional cities such as Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas that all have significantly lower tax rates.

Hotels are one of the City’s largest local employers, creating thousands of good paying jobs.  Targeting these employers with what would be the highest tax rate in the nation will have a crippling impact on local jobs.  In fact, the Controller has indicated that this tax increase will result in significant job losses. A Chamber of Commerce study indicates a 2% increase in the hotel tax rate will result in a loss of 2,026 jobs annually.  Beyond hotels, the tax increase will also have a major impact on thousands of local businesses that serve visitors in our City, from restaurants to taxis, from theaters to bars.  Hurting a core sector of our local economy and losing local jobs is a step in the wrong direction.

San Francisco Examiner columnist Melissa Griffin recently posted the hotel tax rates of cities across the United States:

San Francisco – 17.5% (if raised)

New York – 16.5%

Vancouver – 16.5%

Anaheim – 15.87%

Seattle – 15.6%

San Francisco – 15% to 15.5% (current)

Chicago – 15.39%

Washington, DC – 14.5%

Boston – 14.45%

LA–14%

New Orleans – 14%

Las Vegas – 12% to 13%

San Diego – 12.5%

Millbrae & Burlingame – 12%

South San Francisco – 9%

VOTE NO ON PROP. J!  Please click here for BOMA SF-PAC's positions on San Francisco qualified local measures for the November 2, 2010 ballot.

Click here to visit the Economic Recovery SF (ERSF) website.  ERSF is a coalition of San Francisco businesses that is concerned about the continuation of the economic recovery and the impact that new and increased taxes will have on the economic turnaround.