Twitter San Francisco Tax Breaks Debate – Now In 140 Characters or Less
Let me try to explain this in 140 characters or less: SF wants 2 keep Twitter from leaving the city by giving them a 6-year payroll tax exemption on new jobs created if they move 2 Tenderloin!
That was harder than I thought. Anyways, you can read more about it here.
I used to work for a non-profit that managed a federal rural empowerment zone program – which included tax incentives for companies that moved into the underserved area AND hired people who lived within the empowerment zone. This tool was very effective – as rural communities don’t have the social infrastructure – educational levels, colleges, etc – or social attractions to attract/promote businesses.
San Francisco, on the other hand, has EVERYTHING going its way: universities, a young, educated, and highly motivated workforce, the views, hipsters, as well as the spillover benefits of our concentrated new media / high-tech industry cluster.
If you ask me, this money can be better spend on improving MUNI or other crucial social services rather than lining the pockets of our good friends at Twitter.