Letter: Debunking vacancy tax misinformation: facts over fiction

Letter to the Editor: While those struggling most with housing have been working multiple jobs to keep a roof over their heads, we have seen a flurry of op-eds and social media posts written by authors sowing division and misrepresenting how the Vacancy Tax benefits our community. They have put quite a bit of fear and misinformation into circulation, so below are some important clarifying facts about the initiative.

The Vacancy Tax is a common-sense solution that addresses the crux of the housing crisis. Per 2022 Census data, over 7,000 homes (44% of all housing units) are vacant most of the year, a 56% increase from 2000. What’s more, in that same time frame, the total number of occupied homes has decreased, as local residents have been outbid by second homeowners. How much longer before we follow the North Shore, where 70% of homes now sit vacant most of the year?

South Lake Tahoe has always taken care of its own, and that’s what this initiative does. Hopefully with the facts cleared up, opponents will join the hundreds supportive community members who see this initiative for what it is: a necessary step to save and protect our amazing community.

Here are the facts in response to some misinformation that has been circulating:

Fiction: The Vacancy Tax is a general tax with no spending restraints or oversight.

Fact: The Vacancy Tax is a special tax that can ONLY be spent on local housing, roads, and transit. The Measure requires that a five-member volunteer citizens oversight committee be established to ensure that the funds are spent efficiently to address and solve the housing crisis.

Fiction: The Vacancy Tax doesn’t help existing homeowners.

Fact: Vacancy tax funds can explicitly be used for homeownership retention to help current locals stay in their houses. These funds can help local homeowners with high-impact costs – like skyrocketing fire insurance prices – that are threatening to force out longtime residents and retirees, especially those on fixed incomes. Additionally, the Vacancy Tax ensures we can house our workforce, fill the potholes, and remain a vibrant, thriving community without raising taxes on local residents - something everyone who owns a home here wants and will benefit from.

Fiction: The Vacancy Tax is anti-business.

Fact: The vacancy tax is GOOD for local businesses., Many local business owners support the vacancy tax because it’s harder than ever to find and keep staff, and their employees are struggling to find and afford housing. Further, business owners know that empty homes mean fewer customers.

There is a high cost to the community to have nearly half of homes sit empty. Unlike a TOT or TBID tax that forces local business or their customers to pay more, a vacancy tax asks vacant homeowners, who are not here to support our local businesses on a regular basis, to participate in funding the essential infrastructure that businesses rely on: solving our housing crisis, repairing potholes, and improving transit.

Fiction: Summer cabins would unfairly be taxed despite not being habitable in winter.

Fact: Uninsulated summer cabins are exempt from the vacancy tax, as are Forest Service cottages and other deed-restricted seasonal properties. Additionally, wildland firefighters, active-duty military, and sick or elderly residents in care facilities are excluded from the tax, as are properties under construction, renovation, or in probate. The measure expressly allows for the City Council to add new exemptions if the need arises. Winterized homes that are currently only used in the summer can be rented seasonally during winter months to avoid the tax completely.

Fiction: Legal costs to defend the Vacancy Tax would bankrupt the City.

Fact: The City’s in-house counsel handles lawsuits on a regular basis, including the lawsuit and appeal for Measure T, the cost of which has been negligible despite claims made by opponents. This type of routine “summary judgment” litigation has long been part of the City’s existing working budget. The projected revenue from the tax far exceeds any costs.

Fiction: Vacancy taxes are illegal.

Fact: Washington DC, a city with no shortage of money and lawyers, has had a vacancy tax for 13 years. Utah, a conservative state by any measure, has had the equivalent of a vacancy tax since 1982, charging vacant homes and part-time residents nearly double the property taxes of full-time residents. Vacancy taxes are not new, but they are gaining momentum and are increasingly being discussed as an effective way to address the housing crisis in destination communities around the country.

Fiction: Now is Not the Time.

Fact: We must act now to solve the housing crisis. Local residents and businesses are suffering now, and we must curb vacancy rates before they get higher. The director of student services for LTUSD reported at the recent State of the School that there are now 111 children in our school district experiencing homelessness. School enrollment is down 36% since 2000, resulting in massive school budget deficits, given that the majority of school funding is tied to enrollment. Our population is down 10%, and we’re losing longtime local families by the day. Earlier this month at a community event for the vacancy tax, a local homeowner told us about the nurse living in a van in his driveway. Our teachers, firefighters, nurses, and non-profit workers can no longer afford to live here, and businesses are struggling to keep employees.

There is no time to waste.

We are in a final push to collect the 1,500 signatures needed by April 10 to get on the November ballot. To get involved or donate to support the initiative, go to www.TahoeVacancyTax.com.

By Amelia Richmond
Locals for Affordable Housing