Twitter Tax Break Really, Totally, Completely Official

Supervisors vote in favor of Twitter tax break.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors today finalized its approval of a payroll tax exemption for Twitter and other businesses that move to certain areas in the city's Mid-Market and Tenderloin neighborhoods.

The legislation will provide a six-year exemption for new employees hired at companies that move to an area on or near Market Street between Fifth Street and Van Ness Avenue.

The supervisors voted 8-3 in favor of the proposal--the same approval the proposal received during an initial vote two weeks ago.

Twitter, the microblogging company currently based in the city's South of Market neighborhood, is seeking a building with more office space and had considered moving down the Peninsula to a city that has no payroll tax.

San Francisco's payroll tax is applied to any company with a payroll above $250,000.

Supervisors John Avalos, Ross Mirkarimi and David Campos voted against the proposal.

Avalos said today prior to the final vote that the plan "erodes people's confidence in our business tax" and could lead to many more companies asking for similar tax breaks.

Twitter said in a letter to city officials last month that if the tax exemption were approved, the company would sign a six-year lease at the San Francisco Mart building on the south side of Market Street between Ninth and 10th streets.

-- Bay City News

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