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Zendesk Takes Mayor Lee Up On His Tax Break Offer

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— As promised San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee signed legislation on Friday to waive taxes on stock options for the next six years to encourage companies to grow in San Francisco.

For years there's been grumbling about high business taxes in San Francisco, but the grumbling didn't catch the attention of City Hall until Twitter talked about moving from the city.

Twitter ultimately decided to stay. Now the new law will give companies like Twitter a tax break if they go public and expand in San Francisco.

"We're not about punishing any companies that need to grow and grow fast," said Mayor Lee.

This week the tech company Zendesk signed a new lease to expand to a larger location on Market Street and said it will increase its workforce by 70 people before the year is out.

KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:

Zendesk offers web-based customer support service and plans to move to its new address this summer.

Mayor Lee talked about some measures the city is taking to obtain portions of the city's revenue.

The new law caps taxes on employee stock options at $750,000 dollars a year until 2017.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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