Cup of Chisme: Sales Taxes, Girl Math Edition

I can do a lot of damage on a trip to Target. It’s part of the reason I never really pay attention to all the little notes and charges on my receipt.

It’s bad, I know, but we can unpack that some other day.

Earlier this week, we told you in the Morning Report that a proposed sales tax hike had passed its first hurdle. That got me thinking about sales taxes:

How do they work? What’s taxed and what isn’t? Why does San Diego want to increase its sales tax? And, if it passes, what will it mean to San Diegans? What will those dollars fund? If I don’t pay sales taxes on groceries, by girl math standards, did I save money?

Plus, how will the statewide propositions our resident politics nerd Scott Lewis has been freaking out about affect San Diego’s tax dreams?

Let’s get into it. Grab some cafecito.

411 on San Diego’s Proposed Hikes

Here are all the local tax hikes planned for the November ballot.

The one to fund transit: This is a county-wide half-cent sales tax increase. The dollars raised would go to pay for road repairs, bus and rail transportation and a trolley connection to the airport (My old pal Andrew Keatts has a helpful breakdown for Axios San Diego here). It will be on the November ballot and it needs a simple majority to pass.

Penny for progress: San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and Councilmember Raul Campillo are pushing this one. This would raise the city of San Diego’s sales tax from 7.75 to 8.75 percent. It is a general tax increase so it doesn’t promise where the money would go, but officials say it’s key to addressing the city’s financial problems. The City Council’s Rules Committee voted to support the hike this week, but it still needs to go through a couple of steps before it gets on the ballot. This needs a simple majority to pass.

Question: If these two pass, will city of San Diego residents pay both? Yup. That’s part of the reason critics are against increasing the city’s sales tax. They argue residents are already struggling to make ends meet. (Union-Tribune)

The one to fix stormwater infrastructure: The details on this one are a bit murky, but it’s being championed by San Diego Council President Sean Elo-Rivera. The dollars from this one would go toward funding stormwater infrastructure. This one also needs to go through a couple steps before it makes it on the ballot. It would need two-thirds of the vote to pass.

State Props Enter the Chat

Our Scott Lewis recently wrote about three statewide propositions that could change everything we know about passing taxes. You can read the full post here.

Here’s a quick summary:

• One makes it easier to raise taxes to build stuff.
• The other makes it harder to raise taxes.
• And the third is extra confusing, but it’s easy to remember as a troll on the second. It basically says that if you want to change the rules, your measure needs to pass by the same standards you’re proposing.

The outcome of these propositions could impact what happens to the three tax hikes I mentioned above. It’s all a bit confusing, but we got you.

This week on the VOSD Podcast Lewis walked us through each proposition and co-host Jakob McWhinney broke them down in simple terms. Listen to the full episode here.

More Chisme to Start Your Week

• Did you know San Onofre Beach is rented from the military? Well, that lease is up and the rent is expected to go way up. Our Tigist Layne explains why we only paid $1 for it and why it’s going to be more expensive now to keep it open to the public. Read the full story here.
• San Diego has a new top cop. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria has picked 25-year department veteran Scott Wahl to be the new police chief. Our Lisa Halverstadt has more on Wahl and how he one led the department’s homeless efforts. Read more here.
• Earlier this week, we learned how much money FEMA has handed out to San Diego’s flood survivors. It’s at about $14.4 million, officials told us.
• Will Huntsberry reports that homeless deaths rose again in 2023. He explains how the deaths are impacting homeless residents and what the data shows. Read the full story here.

Thanks for reading Cup of Chisme. If you have any feedback or ideas, email me at andrea.lopez@voiceofsandiego.org.