[(Title)]San Francisco to consider tax on companies to help homeless - ABC News

San Francisco voters will decide in November whether to tax large businesses to pay for homeless and housing services, an issue that set off a battle in another West Coast city struggling with income inequality.

旧金山选民将于11月决定是否对大型企业征税，以支付无家可归者和住房服务费用，这个问题引发了另一个西海岸城市在收入不平等问题上的争斗。

The city elections department verified Monday that supporters had collected enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

该市选举部门星期一证实，支持者已经收集到足够多的签名，以在投票中获得该措施。

It would raise about $300 million a year — doubling what San Francisco spends on homelessness — for more shelter beds and housing for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming so.

它将每年筹集大约3亿美元——相当于旧金山在无家可归方面的花费的两倍——用于为那些无家可归或有可能成为无家可归者的人们提供更多的住房。

The money would come from an average half-percent tax increase on companies' revenue above $50 million each year.

这笔钱将来自公司每年超过5000万美元的收入平均增加0.5百分点的税收。

Homelessness is a major problem in San Francisco, as well as other cities on the West Coast with growing numbers of high-paying tech jobs that price lower-income residents out of a shrinking housing supply.

无家可归是旧金山以及西海岸其他城市的一大问题，高薪科技工作越来越多，使低收入居民为住房供应减少付出了代价。

San Francisco's new mayor, London Breed, vowed to clear the streets of its tent camps within a year of taking office.

旧金山新市长布列德发誓要在就职一年内清除街道上的帐篷营地。

"I think the city is really ready for this," said Christin Evans, a San Francisco small-business owner and one of three petitioners on the measure.

“我认为这座城市已经为此做好了准备，”旧金山小企业老板克里斯汀埃文斯说道，他是这项措施的三位上访者之一。

"We have a lot of momentum behind us, and more than a majority of the voting population is renters. We're polling very well."

“我们背后的支持很大，而且大多数投票人口都是租客。我们投票很顺利。"

Seattle leaders last month repealed a tax on large employers that was meant to fund homelessness services after Amazon pushed back.

上个月，西雅图领导人撤销了对大型雇主的征税，该税收旨在为亚马逊后无家可归的服务提供资金。

But south of San Francisco, Mountain View's City Council got a measure on the November ballot asking voters to authorize a tax on Google and other companies with employees in the Silicon Valley city.

但在旧金山以南，山景市的市政委员会11月的选票上采取了一项措施，要求选民授权对谷歌和硅谷的其他公司征税。

It's unclear which companies in San Francisco would be affected and how hard by the additional tax on gross receipts.

尚不清楚旧金山哪些公司会受到影响，加税对总收入的影响有多大。

Jim Lazarus, senior vice president of public policy for the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, estimates up to 1,000 businesses generate more than $50 million a year.

旧金山商会公共政策高级副总裁吉姆·拉扎罗斯(Jim Lazarus)估计，每年有多达1000家企业，创收5000多万美元。

The companies could include Twitter, which declined to comment Monday.

这些公司可能包括Twitter，但该公司周一拒绝置评。

Other companies that could be affected, such as Uber, pharmaceutical distributor McKesson Corp., Google, Apple and Amazon did not respond to requests for comment.

其他可能受到影响的公司，如Uber、医药经销商麦肯松公司、谷歌、苹果和亚马逊等，都没有回应置评的请求。

Other businesses that could be affected include department stores, supermarkets, law firms and clothing makers such as Levi Strauss & Co., Lazarus said.

拉扎罗斯说，其他可能受到影响的企业包括百货商店、超市、律师事务所和服装生产商，如利维斯特劳斯公司。

The chamber will likely oppose the measure.

这些商家很有可能会反对这项措施.

Marc Benioff, founder and chief executive of cloud-computing company Salesforce, has urged others in the tech community to help address the city's problems with homelessness.

云计算公司Salesforce创始人兼首席执行官马克·贝尼奥夫已经敦促科技界的其他人帮助解决城市无家可归问题。

The city's largest tech employer said in a statement that it has given more than $4 million to the cause and that it is "evaluating the potential ballot measure to carefully assess its merits in addressing this important issue."

该市最大的科技雇主在一份声明中表示，它已为此捐助了400多万美元，而且"正在评估可能的投票措施，以仔细评估其在解决这一重要问题方面的优点"。

San Francisco voters last month also approved an increase in the gross receipts tax on commercial buildings and warehouses to fund universal child care.

上个月，旧金山选民还批准增加商业建筑和仓库的总收入税，以资助全民儿童保育。

The upcoming ballot measure is backed by a coalition that includes homelessness and gay rights groups.

即将到来的选举措施得到一个联盟的支持，该联盟包括无家可归者和同性恋权利团体。

Up to half of the money raised would go toward permanent housing, from rental subsidies to new housing.

筹集到的钱有一半会用于永久性住房，从租金补贴到新住房。

Up to a quarter would go toward mental health services.

多达四分之一的人会去心理健康服务。

Jason McDaniel, a political science professor at San Francisco State University, says it is likely to pass unless political leaders band together to block it.

旧金山国立大学政治学教授杰森·麦克丹尼尔表示，除非政治领导人联合起来阻止它，否则这项投票很可能会通过。

"I suspect that local companies don't have the same kind of relationship to the political establishment as they do in Seattle," he said.

他说：“我怀疑当地公司与政治机构的关系不像在西雅图那样”。

"There's no Amazon here.

“这里没有亚马逊。

It's not like a company town."

它不像公司城那样。"