HomeMy WebLinkAboutCorrespondence - #41
Alcala, Abigail
From:Sara Catalan <sara@octax.org>
Sent:Thursday, May 30, 2024 8:33 PM
To:eComment
Subject:Santa Ana proposed tax increase
Attachments:Santa Ana Sales Tax Cig Letter.pdf
Attention: This email originated from outside of City of Santa Ana. Use caution when opening attachments or links.
Attached please find our letter on the proposed tax increase.
Sincerely,
Sara
Sara Catalán
Orange County Taxpayers Association
PO Box 5881
Orange, CA 92863
Fighting to make taxes fair, understandable, cost-effective, and good for the economy!
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MayorAmezcua
CityCouncilmembers
SantaAnaCityHall
20CivicCenterPlaza
SantaAna,CA92701
Re:Item41.DiscussandConsiderProvidingDirectiontotheCityManager,CityClerk,andCity
AttorneytoPrepareNecessaryDocumentstoProposeaCigaretteLitterAbatementTax
IwritetoyoutodayonbehalfofOCTax,toopposenewtaxincreasesonbusinessesintheCityof
SantaAna.SmallbusinessownersmakeuptheheartofthebusinesscommunityinSantaAnaand
manyofthoseareminority-ownedbusinesses.
Smallbusinessownersarestrugglingthroughatougheconomy,seeingalltheircostsrisingyear
overyear. TheaveragecommercialenergycostsinCaliforniaare84%higherthanthenational
average,laborcostsareup4.5%thisyear,ontopofa4.7%increaselastyear,andthecostsfor
materials/suppliesareincreasingagainforthethirdstraightyear.
Everyoneisfeelingthepinchofinflationonthefamilybudgetaswellasonthebusinessbudget.
Whileweunderstandtheneedforincreasedrevenue,raisingtaxesonsmallbusinessesand
increasingtheircomplianceburdenisnotthesolution.Inarecentstudyresearchersfoundthat
SantaAnaisoneofthemostexpensiveplacestoliveintheUnitedStates;withanoverallcostof
livingindexof165/100,SantaAnais65%higherthanthenationalaverage.
TheCityofSanFranciscohasacigarettetaxsimilartothisproposalonthebookssince2009.Every
cigaretteretailerintheCityandCountyofSanFranciscoisresponsibleforpayingtheCigarette
LitterAbatementFeeof$1.50perpackofcigarettessold.Thesesmallbusinessesmustthenfile
quarterlyreportswiththecitytreasurer,paythetax,payalatefeeiftheyaredelayed,andpayan
additionaladministrativefee.Thesetaxesandfeesareinadditiontocurrentcompliance
requirementsandtothealready-increasingcostsofrunningasmallbusiness.
SantaAnaisalreadytiedforthehighestsalestaxeratesinthecounty.Thecostofimplementing
thisnewtaxwouldfaroutweightheeconomicbenefitsforthecity.Insteadofincreasingthistax,we
wouldrespectfullyrequestthatthecityencouragebusinessgrowthbycontinuingtostreamlinethe
businessapplicationcostsforandapplicationprocessesforsmallbusinesses.
Thankyouforyourconsideration.
Sincerely,
SaraCatalán
Alcala, Abigail
From:George Boutros <gboutros@ocbc.org>
Sent:Monday, June 3, 2024 6:46 PM
To:Hall, Jennifer
Cc:!City Clerk
Subject:OCBC: Letter of Opposition - Cigarette Litter Abatement Tax
Attachments:SantaAna_AbatementTax_Oppose.pdf
Attention: This email originated from outside of City of Santa Ana. Use caution when opening attachments or links.
Dear City Clerk J. Hall:
This is George Boutros, Government Affairs Manager with Orange County Business Council. I hope this email finds you
well.
I am contacting you this evening, ahead of tomorrow’s city council meeting, to submit our letter of opposition against the
city’s consideration of implementing a cigarette litter abatement tax. Please let me know if the Office of the City Clerk is
the appropriate channel to submit our letter through. If not, I would be happy to send this letter to the appropriate city
staff. I have attached the letter to this email. Thank you.
Regards,
GEORGE BOUTROS
Government Affairs Manager
Orange County Business Council
gboutros@ocbc.org
Cell Phone: (
2 Park Plaza, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92614
ocbc.org | locationoc.com
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