Sponsored link
Thursday, April 3, 2025

Sponsored link

UncategorizedAnti-speculation tax headed for November ballot

Anti-speculation tax headed for November ballot

By Tim Redmond

FEB. 26, 2014 — A tax on real-estate speculators first proposed by Harvey Milk in the late 1970s could wind up on the November San Francisco ballot.

A coalition of tenant groups that put together the series of incredibly successful conventions over the past few months has decided that the most popular, effective measure to come out of the meetings is a tax that would take much of the profit out of buying and flipping properties.

Under the proposal, landlords would have to pay a windfall profits tax if they buy and sell a piece or rental property in six years or less, with the tax decreasing after every year of ownership. It would start at 50 percent.

That means that a speculator who buys a building for $1 million, evicts all the tenants, and sells it in a few months for $2 million would have to pay the city a tax of $500,000. (more after the jump)

48 Hills welcomes comments in the form of letters to the editor, which you can submit here. We also invite you to join the conversation on our FacebookTwitter, and Instagram

Marke B.
Marke B.
Marke Bieschke is the publisher and arts and culture editor of 48 Hills. He co-owns the Stud bar in SoMa. Reach him at marke (at) 48hills.org, follow @supermarke on Twitter.

Sponsored link

Sponsored link

Featured

Finally, some talk about local taxes—but not in a progressive direction

Airbnb wants a tax refund. Wiener wants sales taxes. Oakland sales tax isn't polling well. But taxing the rich seems like a popular idea.

Listen to the rank and file: Political lessons from something I missed 25 years ago

The Democratic leadership in Congress needs to learn from a big mistake I made as a union organizer.

Andrea Bergen collages a post-apocalyptic world whose creatures feast on scraps

Will these electric raccoons and possums inherit our beleaguered Earth?

You might also likeRELATED