Letter: Vacancy Tax May Backfire

After I moved to Tahoe in 1983, the workforce significantly grew and the number of restaurants and bars in the region more than doubled. There are two basic truths that will never change: Tahoe is a second home market and a major tourist destination. With a finite number of homes at Lake Tahoe, affordable housing and workforce housing will always be a challenge.

So, what is the solution? My understanding is that the Vacancy Tax Initiative proposes to raise funds that will increase workforce housing and repair city roads. Measure T was supposed to achieve affordable housing but failed. Instead, it decreased revenues for the city. Furthermore, it promised to lower rental rates. Instead, home values and rents continued to skyrocket.

The appeal to voters is that the Vacancy Tax will be imposed on a special group of homeowners who don’t live here and can’t vote against the initiative. As long as the voters are not getting taxed, why not pass it?

If this is passed, like Measure T, it will most likely backfire. Local homeowners could see the value of their homes negatively impacted. They may not realize the same appreciation as homeowners outside the city limits. Rather, it may stimulate higher home values in the county area.

If 2nd homeowners are burdened with a significant tax, how will they cope with it? If they keep their homes and choose not to rent, it could cut into the home maintenance and improvement budget. We already have a lot of substandard housing in Tahoe and creating a condition for potential blight would be a mistake.

How about an alternative to the Vacancy Tax Initiative? Overburdening a special group of homeowners does more to alienate them. They play a role in the community as well. Obviously, the city is looking for more revenue sources which makes an increase in property taxes inevitable. So spread the pain and make it fair. A small tax on all gives all homeowners an invested interest in success and accountability. If the city does not use the funds wisely and appropriately, the local homeowners will be empowered to hold them accountable. Otherwise, it’s too easy to turn a blind eye.

- Jim Wire