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11/02/12 | Uncategorized

SFMade And Over 400 Local Manufacturers Support Proposition E

Proposition E has the support of Mayor Lee and all eleven members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.
By Kate Sofis (Founding Executive Director, SFMade)

On this Tuesday, November 6 not only will the entire Nation go to the polls election day, but San Franciscans will be uniquely positioned to vote for a once in a lifetime opportunity to support a fundamentally more equitable business tax system and to grow job-creating local businesses.

As Founding Executive Director of SFMade, the California non-profit established to promote the development of a vibrant local manufacturing sector in San Francisco focused on building our city’s economic base, I ask you to join me and our more than 400 local manufacturers in voting Yes on Proposition E.

For over twenty years, small businesses throughout San Francisco have argued that a local payroll tax on jobs is bad for business and unfair.

Prop E replaces the current payroll tax formula, only one of its kind in California, with a gross receipts model that benefits job creation, protects small business owners and startups’ growth, incentivizes entrepreneurship and dedicates funding for better city services.

A YES on E will implement a far better system, whereby businesses will be taxed based on the revenues they make, not on the value of the jobs they sustain. Prop E further encourages startups and small businesses by exempting those making less than $1 million annually, whereas today’s threshold is static and indiscriminate for all industries at $250K across the board.

Most importantly, Prop E will fundamentally create a more fair system – with more businesses – many of them large businesses who had been exempt under the current system – contributing into the City’s business tax base, while the most labor intensive businesses – such as restaurants and manufacturers – will likely see their tax bills reduced as compared to the current system. And while Prop E’s major change is a replacement of the current system, NOT a new tax, an accompanying small increase in business license fees will also drive additional revenue to support more affordable housing and more funds for police, fire and parks.

City leadership assembled a broad coalition of small business, local manufacturers, labor, neighborhood organizations, and all major sectors of business – from real estate to financial services, from restaurants and hotels to San Francisco’s burgeoning technology sector – to develop this collaborative solution.

Proposition E has the support of Mayor Lee and all eleven members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. And unlike our divisive national political landscape, Proposition E even has unified support from both the Democratic and Republican parties.

I encourage you to vote Yes on Prop E because it moves San Francisco forward with fair business taxes, more good jobs, small business and startup protection, and better city services of all San Franciscans.

Vote Yes on Prop E.

Photo credit: Ho John Lee on Flickr.

Women 2.0 readers: What do you think about Proposition E? Let us know in the comments!

About the guest blogger: Kate Sofis is the Founding Executive Director at SFMade, a public-private partnership focused on building San Francisco’s economic base by developing the local urban manufacturing sector. SFMade helps retain and grow urban companies producing locally-made products, encourages entrepreneurship and innovation, and creates employment opportunities for a diverse local workforce. Kate is also co-founder of the recently-launched national Urban Manufacturing Alliance, a national collaboration of more than 15 major US cities.

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