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Uploaded: Monday, July 20, 2009, 9:14 AM

Palo Alto revises business-tax proposal
Nonprofits would now be exempt from business-license tax; professionals should expect to pay more

by Gennady Sheyner
Palo Alto Weekly Staff

Posted by casey, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Jul 20, 2009 at 9:40 am
casey is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online

How does Facebook and other internet companies fit into this equation? Do they count as a manufacturing business since they aren't a retail or licensed professional business?

Posted by Makes no sense, a resident of the Crescent Park neighborhood, on Jul 20, 2009 at 10:19 am

It makes no sense to me that we are taxing businesses instead of letting fair trade generate it's own revenue stream. I thought we wanted companies to stay in Palo Alto. I'm voting off every member of the Council that I can this time around. Wrong side of the police chief (non)controversy, ridiculous amount of attention on the Children's Theater fiasco, leaf blowers, business tax. They aren't my representatives.

Posted by Ditto, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jul 20, 2009 at 10:29 am

well said "Makes No Sense".

Posted by PA Resident, a resident of Another Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jul 20, 2009 at 10:58 am

"How does Facebook and other internet companies fit into this equation?"

I presume since they are located on Stanford land they may not even pay taxes to PA.

Posted by Carol Gilbert, a resident of the University South neighborhood, on Jul 20, 2009 at 11:18 am

I think the business tax levies far too much. I also object to the council's placing this on the ballot pitting "the people" against "business." The council should have the responsibility of taking input from the public and working out a sensible plan, but they do not do that often, do they?

Posted by PAmoderate, a resident of the Old Palo Alto neighborhood, on Jul 20, 2009 at 12:57 pm

"The council should have the responsibility of taking input from the public and working out a sensible plan"

Of course not. Elected officials often times punt to the ballot box to save them from having to make hard decisions and face the wrath of voters (or their, ahem, paying supporters). It's the California Way.

Posted by Liberty, a resident of the Downtown North neighborhood, on Jul 20, 2009 at 1:51 pm

I don’t get it. It says professional service companies have to pay $95 per employee. And it says the median professional service company will pay $239. Does the median professional service company have 2.5 employees?

Am I missing something?

Posted by Susan Kraft, a resident of the Fairmeadow neighborhood, on Jul 20, 2009 at 4:40 pm

I never doubted there would not be some sort of business tax on the ballot. They city council has been chewing on this bone far too long to ever give it up. However, I am pleased with the modifications. Now it is up to the general population of PA to vote one way or the other.

One more thing: Please, please, if the citizens vote against, drop it for good. No downtown street clean up, no BID. Nothing. Just listen to the people and drop it, if that is what is called for.

Posted by Disappointed, a resident of the Community Center neighborhood, on Jul 20, 2009 at 5:23 pm

Tonight the Council will vote some $11l,000 for the Senior Games. Then we had the $250,000 for a useless webpage, not the mention $1 Million annually for the Children's Theatre and that huge expensive mess.

Given these Council missteps and the way they waste money, it is hard to justify voting for a Business Tax.

Posted by James Hoosac, a resident of the Green Acres neighborhood, on Jul 20, 2009 at 9:30 pm

To Makes no sense, I will also add the Plastic Bags Ban nonsense.

Posted by SteveU, a resident of the Barron Park neighborhood, on Jul 21, 2009 at 9:20 am
SteveU is a member (registered user) of Palo Alto Online

If we are going to do this insanity, let us use it to help the employed worker by encouraging full time employment.

Charge a higher fee per employee of record for businesses that use "Temporary" or part time (usually without benefits) employees, with an category exemption for enrolled school students and Christmas season help.

Posted by Perspective, a resident of the Midtown neighborhood, on Jul 21, 2009 at 11:21 am

I just heard Poizner, Insurance commissioner of CA who just threw in his hat for the governorship of CA, on Armstrong and Getty radio. Wow. This guy impressed me. He says that we are driving out 3,000 taxpayers/WEEK from California from our burdensome taxes and regulation. He claims that we have doubled our CA govt in only 10 years ( my gosh!!). He is an engineer/MBA who actually understands numbers, finance and business, having not only been educated in such things, but also having begun businesses in CA and having lived first hand the problems we face.

I think we need to pay attention to him. And look south of us to Mountain View, who manages to attract a good tax base, and look in the mirror in our own city and see what has happened.

We have done to taxpayers in PA what CA has done to taxpayers in general. If it is true ( and I actually have read this elsewhere) that we will have lost 200,000 TAXPAYERS by the end of this year alone to friendlier States, can you imagine what this will do to the Californian State economy?

And, even more scarily, we are now doing the same political philosophy nationally. What was that saying? Think globally, act locally? Or was it more "all politics are local"?