Written by Will Seykora
The City of San Diego is trying to illegally pass new taxes on hotels, hurting San Diego’s tourism industry just as it’s getting back on its feet.
If you live in the city you may remember voting on Measure C last march. Which would raise the city’s 10.5 percent tax on hotels to as much as 13.75 percent, the city hoped to use the money gained to fund three initiatives. The measure was set to fund expanding the convention center, providing the homeless with more services, and funding road repairs. Although the Measure passed with around 65 percent of the vote, the city needed a two-thirds majority to pass a new tax increase.
Now, instead of realizing it had failed, the City is pushing for the courts to approved this illegal tax hike. Citing three appellate court cases that concluded a simple majority is enough to pass these tax increases.
However, the City isn’t the only one going to court. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and Alliance San Diego are both suing the city, saying the tax increase is illegal since City Council knew it needed two-thirds of the votes to enact the increase while still pushing it through without reaching that majority.
While the initiatives the money would fund are honorable and should be addressed, the way the City went about handling the situation can certainly seem crude since they decided to go forward with the increases without waiting for a court’s decision. Mayor Todd Gloria was in favor of waiting for the court to decide, saying that if the court rules in favor of the city the money will be crucial in addressing homelessness.
