San Mateo County Rental Car Taxes Defeated at Ballot Box November 7, 2008 Joseph Bishop-Henchman Joseph Bishop-Henchman A reader points us to two ballot initiatives hiking taxes on parking lots and rental cars in San Mateo County, California that failed on Tuesday. Measure Q would have imposed an 8% gross receipts tax on commercial parking facilities (San Francisco International Airport is located in San Mateo County), which failed by a vote of 47.9% to 52.1%. Measure R would have imposed a 2.5% gross receipts tax on rental cars, but failed 47.5% to 52.5%. The county hoped to use the $28 million raised by the taxes to close its budget shortfall. Excise taxes like taxes on rental cars are increasingly used as a way to shift punitive tax burdens to non-constituents like tourists. This is dangerous because it allows people to consume more government than they are willing to pay for, and assume incorrectly that there is such a thing as a free lunch. If San Mateo County’s taxes aren’t enough to cover the spending San Mateo County citizens want, they should either be willing to raise broad-based taxes on everyone or cut spending. After all, we’re all tourists to everyone else, and if everyone shifts huge taxes to tourists, we all pay in the end. Stay informed on the tax policies impacting you. Subscribe to get insights from our trusted experts delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe Share Tweet Share Email Topics Center for State Tax Policy California Business Taxes Estate, Inheritance and Gift Taxes Gross Receipts and Margin Taxes Individual and Consumption Taxes