Civic

Proposition I on this november’s ballot would double the transfer tax levied on properties worth $10 million or more. Transfer taxes are charged by the city when a property is sold and are usually paid by the seller. Right now, a 2.75% tax is levied on buildings worth $10 million to $25 million, and a 3% tax is levied on buildings worth more than $25 million. If voters were to approve this proposition, both of these taxes would double. Opponents argue that the tax would be bad for the city’s economy, hurt businesses, and cost construction jobs. Proponents say the tax will affect those who can afford it, and will raise money for important initiatives like partly paying landlords for rents their tenants can’t pay because of the coronavirus pandemic, and funding a social housing pilot program. "Civic" talked with measure’s author, Supervisor Dean Preston, and an opponent, Jay Cheng with the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.

Proposition L, a tax measure on the November ballot, is intended to give businesses incentive to change their pay structure to bring executive compensation more in line with workers’. Revenue from the measure, if passed, is expected to range from $60 million to $140 million a year. Sarah Anderson, who directs the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies and researches Wall Street reform, CEO pay, taxes, labor and international trade and investment, said the proposal would set an example and would target a business practice that contributes to inequality.

In this conversation about the regional sales tax to fund Caltrain, Measure RR, Adina Levin, executive director of the nonprofit Friends of Caltrain and co-founder and advocacy director of the nonprofit Seamless Bay Area, explains how Measure RR got on the ballot and what it would enable Caltrain to do.

In this discussion about the regional tax proposal to fund Caltrain, Measure RR, Eric Garris, a San Francisco resident who submitted the official opposition to the measure, lays out his argument against it.

The documentary “The First Angry Man” turns its lens back on the moment when Proposition 13, which dramatically restricted property taxes, was passed and examines the social and political context of the time. The filmmakers, Camille Servan-Schreiber and Jason Andrew Cohn, make the case that Howard Jarvis, the public face of Proposition 13, helped usher in an era of nationwide tax revolt and distrust in government that persists more than 40 years later. The documentary comes ahead of an election in which California voters will consider a ballot measure that would amend Proposition 13 to raise property taxes for some businesses.

Barbara Hale, assistant manager for power with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, responds to some of these concerns raised by Treasure Island resident Barklee Sanders about disruptive power outages, and outlines the various responsibilities for the island's power supply and how those were assigned.

Check out our podcast feed for an interview with Barklee Sanders illustrating the impact of the outages on residents and businesses.

Residents on Treasure Island live with frequent and recurring power outages, in part because the infrastructure is quite old. Barklee Sanders, an island resident who has been researching and advocating for improvements to the grid, illustrates the scope of the problem and just how disruptive the outages are to residents.

Check our podcast feed for another interview on this topic in which the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission responds to some of these concerns and outlines the various responsibilities for the island's power supply.