As a Berkeley resident, I do not approve tax giveaways to BioTech, National Defense, and Big Pharma — under the cover of philanthropic encouragement.

This proposal should not be fast-tracked through the Council’s Consent Calendar. The public must be able to examine and speak on these tax exemptions.

These tax waivers also serve as a bail out to property owners that rent to these Research and Development companies.

Please join me in urging the Council to take this proposal off the Consent Calendar.

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THE FULLER STORY:  

There is a proposal on the Berkeley City Council’s consent calendar for October 15th to exempt the taxation of businesses that receive research and development grants.

This proposal is nothing more than a giant giveaway to BioTech, National Defense and Big Pharma — industries that already profit from government grants and venture capital funding, and that aren't an appropriate investment of our hard-earned tax dollars.

Worse, the Council is trying to slip this past the public by putting it on the consent calendar without sufficient public scrutiny.

If this change in the tax ordinance passes, the associated tax waivers will leave our city facing a budget shortfall, forcing Berkeley residents and local retail to make up for the losses. Most of these startups research profit-making products.

We welcome new technologies and new industries, but they shouldn’t get a free ride. Berkeley — with its wealth of education, intelligence, and resources — is the reason innovative industries are attracted to us… not our tax breaks.

Why is there no demand in this proposal for these firms to hire local people to qualify for the exemption? Why are we helping create a dangerous mono-economy, making the city increasingly beholden to the ever-changing fortunes of just a few industries?

This proposal comes fresh off the heels of another bad Council vote, one that allowed the property owner to push out local filmmakers and documentarians at Fantasy Studios for Biotech research and development. Cultural institutions like Fantasy Studios are being forced out — now the very firms that benefitted ALSO want a tax break for doing it?!

Why should Berkeley residents subsidize venture capitalists, who've invested in the companies who'd qualify?

Many of the firms mentioned as potential beneficiaries in the Council's proposal have used the results of their government grants to attract venture capital funding. This includes All Power Labs ($5 million stock sale), Novel Farms ($1.4 million investor funding), and Widesese who picked up $3 million in venture capital.

Moreover, the proposed Council proposal is a bail-out to corporate property owners who may be struggling to attract and retain biotech renters, but who selectively rent only to high net-worth industries. Currently, 47.1% of biotech space in the Bay Area is vacant; all of the new building space at 600 Addison is vacant. These corporate landlords who'd love to profit from additional tax-subsidized tenants.

It sounds nice and progressive to “reward innovation” but that’s a feel-good cover. They’ve thrown in climate change nonprofits to “greenwash” these tax giveaways.

Regular people don’t get these kinds of tax breaks. Artists don’t get these tax breaks. And these tax exemptions create a budget deficit, one that will affect City services and have to be made up by Berkeley residents.

This thinking doesn’t track: we give tax breaks to keep industry that is supposed to bring tax revenue.

We need to make our voices heard now.

This proposal will be heard next Tuesday (Council Consent Item #21) — we must demand that it be taken off consent and given the full hearing, as any proposal that would risk our City's financial future should require.