"San Mateo County will join a state bill to allow it to ask voters to raise its sales tax by a half-cent after the board voted 3-2 yesterday (May 5). The vote supports legislation in Sacramento by Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, to raise the sales tax at some point over the next five years."
"An increase would bring the sales tax above 10% in most San Mateo County cities, including Belmont, East Palo Alto and Redwood City. The lowest tax rate would be 9.875% in cities such as San Carlos, Atherton and Menlo Park. The tax would also be on top of the county's current half-cent sales tax, Measure K, which was approved in 2016."
"Corzo said she has a long history of supporting tax measures in the county, but she isn't comfortable supporting something without an explicit plan or details. "For me, it's too open-ended and I don't think it's the right time to do this," Corzo said."
"Speier said there was a possibility the county would need the sales tax increase to help the county's budget amid an anticipated shortfall in the portion of car tax money from the state. The county is anticipating losing about $120 million in funding. The county was expecting to receive $157 million this year."
San Mateo County will support state legislation that would let the county ask voters to raise the sales tax by a half-cent within the next five years. The board vote was 3-2, with Noelia Corzo and Ray Mueller opposing the measure. Corzo cited the lack of an explicit plan and said the proposal is too open-ended for the current time. An increase would push most cities’ sales tax above 10%, with the lowest rate around 9.875% in certain cities. The increase would be added on top of the county’s existing half-cent sales tax approved in 2016. Supporters said the change could help protect essential services amid fiscal pressures and an anticipated $120 million shortfall in car tax funding from the state.
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