Archinect - News

San Francisco might tax empty homes to fund affordable housing

2022-02-11T12:34:00-05:00

People living in San Francisco may be given the opportunity to vote on a proposal to tax vacant homes in the city. The proposal, filed with city officials this month, seeks to address a chronic shortage of housing in San Francisco by encouraging landlords to either rent or sell vacant units.

Proponents of the so-called Empty Homes Tax believe it could raise more than $38 million annually; half of which would be used to fund rental subsidies for elderly and low-income households, with the other half used by the city to purchase empty buildings and convert them into affordable housing. In addition, proponents say the measure could see 4,500 extra homes made available for occupation over the next two years.

Archinect Feature: For Affordable Housing, The Revolution Will Be Modularized

The most recent official study of San Francisco’s housing stock, carried out in 2019, estimated that the city contained over 40,000 vacant homes. According to San Francisco Board of Supervisors member De...

It's true: Trump's tax cuts gutted LIHTC funding

2019-07-18T14:29:00-04:00

As a result of reduced tax revenue from the 2017 corporate tax cuts enacted by President Donald Trump, the development of at least 15,000 affordable housing units has been either delayed or eliminated entirely, The Sacramento Bee reports.

The reason? A significant portion of affordable housing development happens as a result of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), a program that typically enjoys bipartisan support because it provides tax credits to private companies that fund low-income housing development. The Sacramento Bee reports, however, that as a result of the tax cuts, corporate tax rates dropped by 40-percent, shriveling the total available pool of funds available to fund initiatives like the LIHTC.

As a result, California built only 19,000 affordable homes with the funding in 2018, a 23-percent drop from 2016.

Toronto residents use political art to push for “Gentrification Tax” to keep neighborhoods affordable

2018-08-22T15:42:00-04:00

The billboard suggested the rapid rise in home values between 2008 and 2017 necessitates a steep tax aimed at speculative flipping. The proposed tax would grab as much as 100 per cent of the profit from a home resale during the first year of ownership, then decline by increments of 10 per cent over 10 years. It would target non-resident and resident buyers alike, including primary residences [...] the goal is to keep Toronto’s popular neighbourhoods affordable for all income levels.

How New York City's luxury housing tax could finance affordable units

2017-02-23T19:44:00-05:00

While President Trump talks repeatedly about fixing America’s inner cities, it’s a good bet that in the coming years, New York and other large metropolitan areas will need to be more self-reliant in solving pressing problems, especially low-income housing. [...] Fortunately, there’s an already tested alternative: an annual luxury housing tax, levied on new high-end condos and rentals, which would feed a self-sustaining fund dedicated to develop truly affordable units.

Is Vancouver's 15% tax on overseas buyers helping to cool the housing market?

2016-10-12T14:22:00-04:00

There is a city which is suffering a worse property bubble than Sydney, whose residents are more priced-out than Londoners, and where there is a greater divide between the housing haves and have-nots than even San Francisco. That city is Vancouver, and in response to these mounting challenges, the west-coast Canadian metropolis recently imposed an extraordinary new tax on foreign buyers – whose impact is now being watched closely by other cities grappling with bloated property markets.

Ohio Tax Proposal Would Extend Sales Tax to Architectural Services

2013-03-06T15:00:00-05:00

While architects and small firms would undoubtedly benefit from the income tax cuts and deduction, the sales tax on services is problematic for the architectural profession. If the tax plan is approved, architects may find themselves at a distinct disadvantage to out of state firms.

via David Cole in the Forum

Firm gets a great deal, but does Los Angeles?

2011-10-09T14:23:37-04:00

The public handout will include a three-year holiday from the city's gross revenue taxes — a deal the city offers to relocating companies, and one that could save Gensler hundreds of thousands of dollars. That would have been enough, you'd think, and hard to argue with. But city officials also paved the way for Gensler to receive a $1-million Community Development Block Grant, a federal program that historically has focused on stimulating economic growth and housing in low-income communities.