San Francisco Telephone Tax, Proposition O (November 2008)

A San Francisco Telephone Tax Act, Proposition O ballot question was on the November 4, 2008 ballot in San Francisco, where it was approved.

Proposition O replaced the citiy's Emergency Response Fee with a general tax (Access Line Tax) at the same rates and with the same exemptions. Revenue from this tax goes to the City's General Fund.

Proposition O also revised the Telephone Users Tax to:

• Define "telephone communications services" to include current and future technologies for telephone communications, including voice over internet protocol (VOIP) services, and
• Give examples of the types of charges subject to this tax, including charges for conference calls, voicemail, and call waiting; activation, termination, and late payment fees; and universal service charges.

Proposition O continued the Telephone Users Tax exemption for residential landline services. It also stated that voters approve the City's past collection of the Telephone Users Tax and the Emergency Response Fee.

Election results

Proposition O
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		208,044	66.74%
No		103,679	33.26%

These final, certified, results are from the San Francisco elections office.

Ballot question

The question on the ballot:

	Proposition O: "Shall the City replace the Emergency Response Fee with an Access Line Tax at the same rates and with the same exemptions, and revise the Telephone Users Tax?"

Path to the ballot

Proposition O was referred to the ballot on July 29, 2008 by an 11-0 vote of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

In favor: Supervisors Alioto-Pier, Ammiano, Chu, Daly, Dufty, Elsbernd, Maxwell, McGoldrick, Mirkarimi, Peskin and Sandoval.

See also

• California Utility User Taxes

External links

Suggest a link

• November 4, 2008 official San Francisco voter guide
• David Latterman's analysis of the November 2008 San Francisco local ballot measures