League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	San Francisco County, CA November 2, 2010 Election
	Proposition N Real Property Transfer Tax County of San Francisco Ordinance - Majority Approval Required Pass: 149350 / 58.49% Yes votes ...... 105979 / 41.51% No votes See Also: Index of all Propositions

Arguments For Proposition N

Arguments Against Proposition N

PROGRESSIVE TAX REFORM THAT WON'T COST THE VAST MAJORITY OF SAN FRANCISCANS A DIME. San Franciscans voted overwhelmingly in November, 2008 for a progressive real estate transfer tax structure. Proposition N continues this important work of tax reform. Proposition N will help fund vital city services when the largest downtown office buildings are bought and sold. It will NOT impact homeowners or small property owners. Here's what Proposition N does: INCREASES REAL ESTATE TRANSFER TAX ON BUILDINGS SOLD FOR MORE THAN FIVE MILLION DOLLARS. Proposition N will increase the tax rate by 0.5% for buildings between $5 million and $10 million. It will increase the rate by 1% on buildings sold for over $10 million. DOES NOT RAISE TAXES FOR HOMEOWNERS OR SMALL PROPERTY OWNERS. Proposition N will not apply to any building or home that is sold for less than $5 million. APPLIES ONLY AT THE TIME OF SALE. The real estate transfer tax only applies when a large downtown office building is bought and sold. San Francisco faces a continuing, structural budget deficit that has already caused severe cuts in MUNI services, the cancellation of summer school, and reductions in health care services. Proposition N will help save these services in a fair, equitable manner that will not raise taxes for average San Francisco property owners or hurt our economy. Please join the San Francisco Democratic Party, teachers, nurses, and health care advocates and vote YES on Proposition N. Supervisor John Avalos Chinese Progressive Association United Educators of San Francisco Sierra Club Rebuttal to Arguments For Vote No on Prop N Prop N Will Cost San Francisco Jobs Proposition N is unwise and unnecessary. By raising taxes on the sale of commercial and residential properties, Proposition N will lead to higher rents for residential units and commercial businesses. Now is the wrong time to pursue a policy that will create additional barriers to doing business in San Francisco. Stand with small businesses and hard- working San Franciscans and reject this job-killing tax increase. Prop N Will Harm Our Economy Vote No on N to protect local jobs and preserve San Francisco's economic recovery. Prop N will lead to higher rents for businesses struggling to survive in a bad economy. San Franciscans must reject unwise tax increases that will harm our City's economic recovery. Prop N Will Hurt Hard-Working San Franciscans Prop N would make San Francisco less competitive and reduce job growth. Prop N will force small businesses to leave the City, killing the jobs they create and the tax revenue they generate. Proposition N is bad policy in a bad economy. Please Join Us in Voting No on Proposition N Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier Supervisor Sean Elsbernd

STOP THE SUPERVISORS' JOB KILLING TAX INCREASE! VOTE NO ON N! Just two years ago, San Franciscans doubled the real estate transfer tax to the highest in California. Even though the economy's worse, supervisors want to raise it again. The City's chief economist says Proposition N will cost 180 private sector jobs and reduce the City's GDP by $20 million. The transfer tax hike will: Lead to higher office rents for small businesses, forcing jobs out of our City, and Reduce San Francisco property values, which will mean lower property taxes. If it was required to fund vital City services or balance the budget, Proposition N might make sense. Unfortunately, these funds would simply go into the General Fund that supervisors use to fund pet projects. This year, the Budget Committee added $1 million in overtime and 400 city bureaucrats the Mayor said were not needed. Imagine what they would do with more of your hard earned money. Voters have a clear choice. We must reject unwise tax increases that will harm our economic recovery. We need MUNI drivers to take the same pay cut as all City workers and cut waste, fraud and abuse through regular audits. Voting No on N will require supervisors to make the tough choices and confront the same decisions we face in our everyday lives. Join us to protect local jobs and preserve San Francisco's property values. If you believe the Board of Supervisors is leading San Francisco in the right direction and can be trusted with your money, you should give them this blank check. If not, Vote No on N! Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier Supervisor Sean Elsbernd Rebuttal to Arguments Against Support schools, Muni, health care and public safety by voting Yes on N. This year, summer school programs were canceled. Muni lines were cut. Health care services were terminated. City employees took a voluntary $250 million paycut. The rising cost of services and the recession-driven deficit are taking their toll. Proposition N will help reduce these cuts while ensuring that millionaire commercial property owners pay their fair share for the services they use. Large downtown properties use services, too. Prop N only impacts buildings sold for $5 million or more. These buildings require millions of dollars of city services including public safety, street cleaning, transit and health care. Isn't it only fair that commercial property owners, not just residents and employees, pay their share for the cost of city services? Only impacts buildings sold for over $5 million Prop N is narrowly targeted to buildings that use a large share of public services. Only buildings sold for $5 million or more will be affected. Does not raise taxes for homeowners. Proposition N will not apply to any building or home that is sold for less than $5 million. And, it only applies when a building is bought and sold. Stand up for San Francisco. Please join the San Francisco Democratic Party, teachers, nurses, and health care advocates fighting to save vital services and vote YES on Proposition N. Supervisor John Avalos Assemblymember Tom Ammiano Supervisor Eric Mar Chinese Progressive Association United Educators of San Francisco Sierra Club