LPSF Ballot Initiatives: SF Small Business Tax Free Zone and Hotel Room Tax Repeal

Discussion
1

Dear Everyone;

At tonights LPSF meeting I was asked to Chair a sub-committee to investigate and making recommendations on placing on the June 2006 ballot two LPSF ballot initiatives.

The sub-committee co-members are: Damarcy Berry � Mike Denny � Jawj Greenwald and�..

By unanimous universal acclamation �Starchild� was volunteered to join the sub-committee due to his unquestionable drive, energy, talents, skills and unique capabilities along with his unswerving belief in Libertarianism.

Uh right � Starchild???

PLEASE NOTE: anyone is welcome to join in at any of the announced meetings and to contribute their help in research � marketing - advertising � community outreach � political outreach � business community outreach � fundraising � legal research � initiative circulators and any other area where help would be welcome.

The tentative ballot names would be:

San Francisco Small Business Tax Free Zone and Hotel Room Tax Repeal

Both measures would be keyed in on the Board of Supervisors oft quoted saying of: let�s help create more employment and let�s create more small businesses and small business employment. Let�s preserve the heritage and culture of our local neighborhood communities and let�s stop all those Big Box businesses.

We can take their words and shove it right down their throats by giving a real tax break to all San Francisco small businesses Citywide.

How can we do this? The SF Small Business Free Tax Zone would do away with payroll taxes for all small businesses in SF and repeal the SF minimum wage law for all businesses in the Free Tax Zone. A small business would be based on the Small Business Administration definition of 100 employees or less.

The Hotel Room Tax repeal would reduce the costs of staying in SF for conventioneers� visitors and travelers. This would make the room rates more competitive and the room rental percentage increase. This would mean a need for more hiring of hotel workers thus more local employment for hotel workers at all levels.

For the Performing Arts groups who would lose their fund grants this would be offset by the decrease in the minimum wage and not having to pay payroll taxes.

I will be announcing the inaugural meeting as soon as possible as the June ballot initiative deadlines for filing and registration are not all that far away.

Ron Getty

SF Libertarian

2

Dear Ron,

Indeed it was a pleasure to finally meet you. And, of course, one
million thanks for agreeing to chair the Initiative Committee.

If all other small business owners are as averse to the City tax as I
am, the proposed initiative is a winner already.

Marcy

--- In lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com, Ron Getty <tradergroupe@y...>
wrote:

Dear Everyone;

At tonights LPSF meeting I was asked to Chair a sub-committee to

investigate and making recommendations on placing on the June 2006
ballot two LPSF ballot initiatives.

The sub-committee co-members are: Damarcy Berry – Mike Denny – Jawj

Greenwald and…..

By unanimous universal acclamation "Starchild" was volunteered to

join the sub-committee due to his unquestionable drive, energy,
talents, skills and unique capabilities along with his unswerving
belief in Libertarianism.

Uh right – Starchild???

PLEASE NOTE: anyone is welcome to join in at any of the announced

meetings and to contribute their help in research – marketing -
advertising – community outreach – political outreach – business
community outreach – fundraising – legal research – initiative
circulators and any other area where help would be welcome.

The tentative ballot names would be:

San Francisco Small Business Tax Free Zone and Hotel Room Tax

Repeal

Both measures would be keyed in on the Board of Supervisors oft

quoted saying of: let's help create more employment and let's create
more small businesses and small business employment. Let's preserve
the heritage and culture of our local neighborhood communities and
let's stop all those Big Box businesses.

We can take their words and shove it right down their throats by

giving a real tax break to all San Francisco small businesses
Citywide.

How can we do this? The SF Small Business Free Tax Zone would do

away with payroll taxes for all small businesses in SF and repeal the
SF minimum wage law for all businesses in the Free Tax Zone. A small
business would be based on the Small Business Administration
definition of 100 employees or less.

The Hotel Room Tax repeal would reduce the costs of staying in SF

for conventioneers' visitors and travelers. This would make the room
rates more competitive and the room rental percentage increase. This
would mean a need for more hiring of hotel workers thus more local
employment for hotel workers at all levels.

For the Performing Arts groups who would lose their fund grants

this would be offset by the decrease in the minimum wage and not
having to pay payroll taxes.

I will be announcing the inaugural meeting as soon as possible as

the June ballot initiative deadlines for filing and registration are
not all that far away.

3

Hi Ron,

  Glad you could make it to the meeting! Sorry I wasn't there to meet you. No need to put my name in quotes -- it is my name as surely as Ron Getty is your name, and is all the truer a representation of myself for having been self-selected at an age when I had more of a developed personality than you presumably did when you were named by someone else (assuming this occurred in your infancy as is the conventional norm).

  I'm happy to be on a ballot initiative committee whether chaired by yourself or any other member of our group. However I think our first initiative ought to be something more pleasing to the left-leaning majority of San Franciscans, and not a tax issue.

  Did you see my recent election analysis message in which I discussed possible initiatives in collaboration with other groups? I had formerly thought that a marijuana initiative would be the best one for us to take on -- and there's still much to be said publicly staking ourselves out as leaders on this issue, especially with a libertarian-leaning Marijuana Party actively organizing. However I am now of the opinion that it would be a more effective use of our resources to motivate Americans for Safe Access and other marijuana community folks to champion this measure, and simply sign on as a partner, while pursuing our own separate initiative.

  For our initiative, I suggested a resolution against the PATRIOT Act. While the Board of Supervisors has already passed such a resolution, I think this is a case where repetition can't hurt. We want to keep the public's eyes on this issue. And our version could have stronger language against local cooperation with the PATRIOT Act, not to mention framing the argument in more libertarian terms. Some arguments for such a measure include: (a) it's a fight we could easily win, (b) stopping the encroaching police state is perhaps the most critical libertarian issue in the United States, (c) it will position us favorably in the eyes of the left-leaning SF majority, and (d) it shouldn't present many complications or require much in the way of research. But a different personal or civil liberties initiative could also work well for us, and I'd love to hear other suggestions.

  I do like the idea of repealing the payroll tax for small businesses, if this tax is levied at the city level. It would be hard for the statists to rail too strongly against something specifically designed to benefit small local businesses. I just think that if we draft such a measure, we should approach the Taxpayers Union about getting it on the ballot rather than taking it on ourselves. I would leave out the repeal of wage restriction laws -- that will just inflame the opposition. And getting rid of the hotel tax is also a political loser in my estimation. Too many arts groups get money from this tax, the people most hurt by it do not vote in San Francisco, and I'm not convinced that the hospitality industry has sufficient backbone to strongly get behind a proposal to eliminate it.

Yours in liberty,
        <<< Starchild >>>

4

Dear Starchild;

The ballot initiatives were discussed at the meeting and by motion were sent to the sub-committee for discussion on whether or not to do something and if so what and a general outline of what we could do or not do and a report back to the next LPSF meeting.

Yes we wouldn't consider doing this by ourselves and one of the topics of the sub-committee meeting would be on having other interested groups join in as allies like the SF taxpayers Union and other small business groups.

I have sent to your personal e-mail address a request for joining us for lunch next week.

When you respond we'll shape up the time and location and then announce it for other interested parties to join on in the meeting.

Ron Getty
SF Libertarian

Starchild <sfdreamer@...> wrote:
Hi Ron,

Glad you could make it to the meeting! Sorry I wasn't there to meet
you. No need to put my name in quotes -- it is my name as surely as Ron
Getty is your name, and is all the truer a representation of myself for
having been self-selected at an age when I had more of a developed
personality than you presumably did when you were named by someone else
(assuming this occurred in your infancy as is the conventional norm).

I'm happy to be on a ballot initiative committee whether chaired by
yourself or any other member of our group. However I think our first
initiative ought to be something more pleasing to the left-leaning
majority of San Franciscans, and not a tax issue.

Did you see my recent election analysis message in which I discussed
possible initiatives in collaboration with other groups? I had formerly
thought that a marijuana initiative would be the best one for us to
take on -- and there's still much to be said publicly staking ourselves
out as leaders on this issue, especially with a libertarian-leaning
Marijuana Party actively organizing. However I am now of the opinion
that it would be a more effective use of our resources to motivate
Americans for Safe Access and other marijuana community folks to
champion this measure, and simply sign on as a partner, while pursuing
our own separate initiative.

For our initiative, I suggested a resolution against the PATRIOT Act.
While the Board of Supervisors has already passed such a resolution, I
think this is a case where repetition can't hurt. We want to keep the
public's eyes on this issue. And our version could have stronger
language against local cooperation with the PATRIOT Act, not to mention
framing the argument in more libertarian terms. Some arguments for such
a measure include: (a) it's a fight we could easily win, (b) stopping
the encroaching police state is perhaps the most critical libertarian
issue in the United States, (c) it will position us favorably in the
eyes of the left-leaning SF majority, and (d) it shouldn't present many
complications or require much in the way of research. But a different
personal or civil liberties initiative could also work well for us, and
I'd love to hear other suggestions.

I do like the idea of repealing the payroll tax for small businesses,
if this tax is levied at the city level. It would be hard for the
statists to rail too strongly against something specifically designed
to benefit small local businesses. I just think that if we draft such a
measure, we should approach the Taxpayers Union about getting it on the
ballot rather than taking it on ourselves. I would leave out the repeal
of wage restriction laws -- that will just inflame the opposition. And
getting rid of the hotel tax is also a political loser in my
estimation. Too many arts groups get money from this tax, the people
most hurt by it do not vote in San Francisco, and I'm not convinced
that the hospitality industry has sufficient backbone to strongly get
behind a proposal to eliminate it.

Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>

5

The Fed has
decided that
transparency is
undesirable as
they continue to
inflate the money
supply. Therefore
they will no
longer publish m3
money supply
figures effective
in march. Keep it
secret and no one
will notice, and
no one will care
but freaks like
me. I would escape
and go off the
grid but that is
not an option for
me...

Also, sorry I
missed the
meeting, but I was
with an old buddy
and when he said
he was going to a
documentary about
the Ballet Russe,
I could not
refuse.. Ballet,
it's a gay thing.
you wouldn't
undersatand,...
well maybe you
would. Fantastic,
it was about a
reunuon of all
these old geezers
who used to dance
for the ballet
Russe of Monte
Carlo, and The
Original Ballet
Russe, as opposed
to the original
Ballet Russe. It
was beautiful and
inspiring. The
world burned
around them twice
and they danced
through it all,

6

http://
tinyurl.com/
cpam4

7

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8

Would either of you please explain the importance of publishing the M3
figure? It looks like the sum M2 plus several additional accounts, foreign
bank deposits, etc. Can hiding this number possibly conceal inflation?
What is M3 used for? Does it help investors predict interest rate? Could
the now secret M3 calculation be leaked to insiders who could use it to
speculate in currency or bonds? What significance does M3 have?

thanks

Harland Harrison
Vice Chair, Libertarian Party of San Mateo County, CA
harrison@...
http://Harrison2004.LPSM.org

9

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