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San Francisco Voters Reject Half-Cent Sales Tax Hike

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS)— The defeat of Proposition G, a one-half cent sales tax on Tuesday's ballot, will cost San Francisco $60 million in anticipated new revenue that supporters said would ease the city's budget problems.

The higher sales tax, up to nine percent, would have gone into effect in April and generated about $15 million next fiscal year, $60 million annually after that.

KCBS' Barbara Taylor Reports:

Supervisor Carmen Chu, who chairs the Board's budget committee, said it may not seem like a lot in a $6 billion budget, but it would have plugged funding holes in adult day care programs and helped pay for the state's transfer of prison inmates to county jails.

"Given that sales tax did not pass we have to go back to the drawing board, reassess where we are and then move forward," Chu said.

The defeat of Proposition G in Chu's assessment is an indication that people are still suffering from the poor economy. Steven Falk, the head of the Chamber of Commerce, agreed.

"People are not comfortable with any kind of measure that has the T-A-X word in the title," Falk stated.

Supervisor Chu added San Francisco will have to explore some other options for raising revenue.

Falk said the city needs to do more belt tightening.

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 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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