Cupertino City Council To Consider Business Tax Increase For November Ballot
CUPERTINO (CBS SF) -- The Cupertino City Council on Tuesday evening will consider placing an increased business tax on the November ballot to fund city projects, including a new City Hall, library renovations and transit studies.
The city has presented four versions of the tax for companies with 100 or more employees, ranging from $150 per employee to $1,500 per employee. The business, not employees, would be responsible for paying the tax, according to the city.
A city report shows that a majority of its businesses, 3,468 of 3,800, have less than 100 employees. Though these small businesses would not incur the new tax, Cupertino Chamber of Commerce officials say it would target essential services like large grocery stores, restaurants and retailers.
Rick Kitson, spokesman for the chamber, said the business association's main concern is the city's speedy, six-week process for rolling out the "premature" proposal.
Kitson said a similar tax in Mountain View to improve transportation took six months of planning. Cupertino's tax plan currently includes eight different projects that could benefit from the funds.
"It's something pretending to be a solution but actually provides no answers," Kitson said, adding that the chamber would support a tax plan that was paired with an "aggressive and meaningful" transit plan to ease the city's congestion.
If the objective of the tax is unclear, Kitson said, "we're gonna get lost very quickly."
The council will review the tax proposal during a meeting at 6:45 p.m. in Cupertino Community Hall at 10350 Torre Ave.
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