By Lisa Mortensen
Well, the city has concocted another tax proposal to inflict pain on San Diegans and divert attention from the real issue of ballooning staff and salaries that has created an ever-increasing deficit. The city asks for your input on surveys of community projects that you may want to have implemented, but this is a diversion tactic to take your eyes off of the true culprits; our exploding deficit that is the making of our elected officials at city hall.
These ‘surveys’ are disingenuous and will lead us to be forced to create community foundations to pay for projects on our wish lists; all the while robbing the city’s taxpayer-funded accounts. This indirectly is a double payment for what we have already paid for in our property taxes and sales taxes. Now let me be clear, I am not criticizing foundations, we need them and the good work they do, but the city must also provide its fair share and not pull back on funding. Foundations are working harder than ever and our city and county must put their financial houses in order and continue to fund our community needs first and stop their hiring binge.
The $8,000 tax on 2nd homeowners who do not rent their properties more than 183 days a year will be on the city council agenda on Tuesday, March 3rd at 2pm.
Sean Elo-Rivera (SER) is pushing this terrible policy forward to be placed on the 2026 ballot. SER dropped the short-term rental industry (which is a for-profit industry) from the tax requirement after Airbnb formed a PAC and raised $2.5million dollars in defense to exempt them from this tax. Once again, individual homeowners who happen to have a 2nd home are now the target by the city for the $8,000 tax. For more information, please read SDUT article dated 2/26/26. (I am still not familiar with how to attach articles from this platform. Bear with me.
Whether you attend the meeting or watch virtually, please at minimum speak out in opposition to this terrible policy by clicking the public comment button below. I have already submitted my comment, which you can read in the published public comment section.
We must protect our taxpayer funds from a city that is robbing us blind.
[Comments were supposed to be made before the end of business on Monday. ]
And why would regular people care about not taxing those who can afford 2nd homes in this city?
“individual homeowners who happen to have a 2nd home are now the target by the city for the $8,000 tax”
I think it’s clear that vacant housing stock is the target. If you “happen to have a 2nd home” (or 3rd or 4th or 5th and so on) and it’s not being used as housing then the city is losing out on tax revenue from people who could live in that house, work in the city, buy goods from local businesses, etc. Also, while this is a small percentage of overall housing, if these properties come up for rent (or sale) it will increase the supply and decrease the cost of housing for those looking. So the city is either going to 1. get more housing or 2. collect a fair penalty from those not making housing available.
TBH, if someone owns a 2nd home in the city that they don’t live in full time or are not renting it out to a permanent resident, I have zero concern about any financial hardship this tax has on the owner.