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<br />MayorAmezcua <br />CityCouncilmembers <br />SantaAnaCityHall <br />20CivicCenterPlaza <br />SantaAna,CA92701 <br />Re:Item41.DiscussandConsiderProvidingDirectiontotheCityManager,CityClerk,andCity <br />AttorneytoPrepareNecessaryDocumentstoProposeaCigaretteLitterAbatementTax <br />IwritetoyoutodayonbehalfofOCTax,toopposenewtaxincreasesonbusinessesintheCityof <br />SantaAna.SmallbusinessownersmakeuptheheartofthebusinesscommunityinSantaAnaand <br />manyofthoseareminority-ownedbusinesses. <br />Smallbusinessownersarestrugglingthroughatougheconomy,seeingalltheircostsrisingyear <br />overyear. TheaveragecommercialenergycostsinCaliforniaare84%higherthanthenational <br />average,laborcostsareup4.5%thisyear,ontopofa4.7%increaselastyear,andthecostsfor <br />materials/suppliesareincreasingagainforthethirdstraightyear. <br />Everyoneisfeelingthepinchofinflationonthefamilybudgetaswellasonthebusinessbudget. <br />Whileweunderstandtheneedforincreasedrevenue,raisingtaxesonsmallbusinessesand <br />increasingtheircomplianceburdenisnotthesolution.Inarecentstudyresearchersfoundthat <br />SantaAnaisoneofthemostexpensiveplacestoliveintheUnitedStates;withanoverallcostof <br />livingindexof165/100,SantaAnais65%higherthanthenationalaverage. <br />TheCityofSanFranciscohasacigarettetaxsimilartothisproposalonthebookssince2009.Every <br />cigaretteretailerintheCityandCountyofSanFranciscoisresponsibleforpayingtheCigarette <br />LitterAbatementFeeof$1.50perpackofcigarettessold.Thesesmallbusinessesmustthenfile <br />quarterlyreportswiththecitytreasurer,paythetax,payalatefeeiftheyaredelayed,andpayan <br />additionaladministrativefee.Thesetaxesandfeesareinadditiontocurrentcompliance <br />requirementsandtothealready-increasingcostsofrunningasmallbusiness. <br />SantaAnaisalreadytiedforthehighestsalestaxeratesinthecounty.Thecostofimplementing <br />thisnewtaxwouldfaroutweightheeconomicbenefitsforthecity.Insteadofincreasingthistax,we <br />wouldrespectfullyrequestthatthecityencouragebusinessgrowthbycontinuingtostreamlinethe <br />businessapplicationcostsforandapplicationprocessesforsmallbusinesses. <br />Thankyouforyourconsideration. <br />Sincerely, <br />SaraCatalán <br />