What Prop C Passing Means For San Francisco’s Homeless And Businesses

With the passing of Proposition C in San Francisco on Tuesday, businesses will feel the financial burden of helping an estimated 7,000 homeless people in the California city. Prop C looks to levy a tax on local businesses to help reduce the homeless population in the Bay area.

Prop C is the creation of 31-year-old, San Francisco advocacy group Coalition on Homelessness. As San Francisco finds itself in the middle of a housing crisis, locating homes for the homeless has become a challenge that is further complicated by high-paid tech professionals looking for housing. The money generated from the business tax will provide mental health and addiction care services as well as funding for homelessness prevention and additional shelter beds in the city.

Prop C passed with wide enthusiasm on election day, gaining nearly 60 percent of the vote. It will move forward as one of the largest tax increases in the city’s history, generating an estimated $300 million and nearly doubling the funding that is currently available to fight homelessness.

San Francisco companies will shoulder the weight of the tax which will range from 0.175 to 0.69 percent for companies with gross receipts of more than $50 million. Many business owners have vehemently come out against the tax with the most notable being Jack Dorsey, the CEO for Twitter and online pay app Square. Dorsey has donated $125,000 to the “No on Prop C” campaign, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Under Prop C, financial companies will be taxed at a higher rate than the city’s staple tech companies which Dorsey has furiously debated. Dorsey found himself pitted against Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, who has dipped nearly $8 million to support of the campaign, according to CNN Business.

Benioff has openly accused Dorsey of not giving back to San Francisco where both of his companies are headquartered. Following the vote, Benioff tweeted about the homeless, saying that they will have the “home and the help they truly need.” But Dorsey is not alone in his fight against the tax measure as San Francisco Mayor London Breed has also rejected Prop C.