SF’s Empty Storefront Tax, After a Year’s Delay, Has Little Effect

It’s been more than a year since a <a href="https://sftreasurer.org/business/taxes-fees/commercial-vacancy-tax-cvt" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">new San Francisco tax on stubbornly empty storefronts</a>, touted by its biggest champion as a “behavior changer,” has been on the books. The levy was approved by voters in 2020 just before COVID shut down the city, then was delayed until 2022 in recognition of the pandemic’s crushing effect on small businesses. To date, the tax has been ignored by hundreds, if not thousands, of property owners and lessees who have failed to submit the required tax filings, according to <a href="https://data.sfgov.org/Economy-and-Community/Commercial-Vacancy-Tax-San-Francisco/rzkk-54yv" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">data</a> from the city treasurer, which acknowledges it could take years to assess if the tax is doing what it was meant to do: force landlords to lower rents and fill their spaces. <a href="https://thefrisc.com/sfs-empty-storefront-tax-after-a-year-s-delay-has-little-effect-f2d10593af58">Click Here</a>