| News - Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Election 2012: Two county tax measures defeated; one may pass
by Dave Boyce
San Mateo County voters defeated two San Mateo County tax measures on June 5. The vote on Measure T, a tax on rental-car companies, is close.
In the latest tally, the "yes" vote on Measure T is 49,587, just 311 more than the "no" vote. The county has about 14,000 ballots still to count, according to elections official David Tom.
Visit tinyurl.com/Tax-612 to see the latest count.
Measure T would create a 2.5 percent tax on the gross receipts of vehicle rental companies in unincorporated parts of the county, including San Francisco International Airport. The companies would be expected to pass the increase along to customers, mostly visitors to the county. The measure would raise $7.75 million a year for San Mateo County's general fund, analysts have said.
Measures U and X were defeated, with about 53 percent of voters opposing the tax measures.
Measure U would have raised the hotel and motel occupancy tax rate in unincorporated parts of the county to 12 percent from its current 10 percent, raising about $200,000 a year.
Measure X would have raised an estimated $5 million a year by imposing an 8 percent tax on commercial parking facilities located in unincorporated parts of the county, including SFO.
A $1.83 billion budget is coming before the county Board of Supervisors in June. The defeat of measures U and X will raise the projected deficit to about $33 million from the current $28 million projected for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2012.
If, after all ballots are counted, Measure T also loses, the deficit will rise by another $7.75 million a year, analysts said.
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