☆ Khamis gives Mahan thumbs-up on plan to roll back job-killing downtown biz taxes

Image by Wikimedia Commons

According to SiliconValley.com, the city is considering an incentive plan that will waive business taxes and parking requirements for downtown businesses that purchase or lease office spaces downtown of over 1,000 sq ft. Former SJ CM and local business leader Johnny Khamis hopes it's the start of a new era of biz-friendly policies at 4th and East Santa Clara. An Opp Now exclusive.

I applaud the efforts of Mayor Mahan to provide incentives for businesses to make downtown San Jose their home. Cutting the business tax (that many cities around San Jose do not charge) for two years and providing free parking is a meaningful start.

Going forward, the local business community is anxiously awaiting serious reforms to the city's needlessly complex and stultifying regulatory and tax model—for every area in the city.

Sign up to receive updates on Opp Now articles. Click HERE.

Simply put, we need to be working for fewer levies on business, not for ways to make it easy to introduce new taxes (like Prop 5).

We need to be reducing the onerous regulatory burden on new development, which essentially chases new business and the jobs they bring out of town.

And we need to guarantee businesses a safe environment for their employees and customers, not the anarchic streetscape too many business districts in San Jose are forced to navigate. That is why supporting Prop 36, as Mayor Mahan is doing, is so fundamental to addressing the chronic mental health and addiction crises that tragically harm the homeless, their neighbors, and local businesses alike.

For years, San Jose was considered one of the best cities in America in which to launch and grow a small business. No more. It's time for our business community to unite to advocate for common sense reforms at City Hall—reforms that will do away with business-unfriendly regulations, lower the tax burden, and welcome new entrepreneurs from all over the world. 

Follow Opportunity Now on Twitter @svopportunity

Related:

• Khamis' pro-business ideas validated—at long last—via streamlined permitting in SJ

• As Sacto throws kitchen sink at small businesses, celebrity chef calls on Californians to help reset the table

• Former local Democrat unravels SCC Dems’ fear of Khamis

Sign up to receive updates on Opp Now articles

Email Address:

First Name:

Last Name:

Opp Now enthusiastically welcomes smart, thoughtful, fair-minded, well-written comments from our readers. But be advised: we have zero interest in posting rants, ad hominems, poorly-argued screeds, transparently partisan yack, or the hateful name-calling often seen on other local websites. So if you've got a great idea that will add to the conversation, please send it in. If you're trolling or shilling for a candidate or initiative, forget it.