The city has some of the highest taxes on businesses in the Bay Area. Numerous cafes and restaurants have closed in recent years, from Blue Bottle Coffee to Lost and Found bar to In-N-Out. Retail vacancies have improved since the pandemic, but remain a problem, especially in the downtown area. Office vacancy rates are at a staggering 28.3%, translating into fewer workers around during business hours to spend money. Car break-ins, retail theft and other threats to public safety keep customers away.
In response, Measure C on the city’s June primary ballot, also known as the Oakland Business Relief Program, proposes a one-year business tax “holiday” for 2027 to help some categories of small business — including retail sales, groceries, business and personal services, recreation and entertainment, and manufacturing. Measure C would eliminate gross receipts taxes for these businesses grossing under $1 million annually.
It would also eliminate up to $1 million in gross receipts taxes for all new businesses, regardless of size, that establish a commercial location in the city. The measure includes an authorization for the Oakland City Council to extend the exemption annually for up to three additional years without returning to voters.
“We understand that businesses in Oakland are struggling, and we need to do more,” City Council Member Zac Unger told the editorial board in voicing support for the measure. “The relationship between the city and business hasn’t always been seamless. We want to send a message that things are different and things are changing.”
Of course, any reduction in business tax revenue could further strain city services amid considerable structural budget woes. But Measure C is a modest and pragmatic effort. And it is already funded: the City Council set aside $3 million in the previous year’s budget for business tax relief. It’s anticipated that the measure will cost around $1.75 million in its first year.
If enacted, it would provide modest help to small and emerging businesses while helping to preserve the city’s broader revenue base. The average tax savings would vary from a few hundred dollars to thousands, depending on the size and category of business.
Measure C’s focus on equity is particularly compelling. Oakland has long been a city of entrepreneurs, many of whom operate on thin margins, particularly in neighborhoods that have historically lacked investment. The proposed exemption helps these enterprises to survive and grow. This is especially important for minority-owned and family-run businesses, which often face structural barriers to capital and are disproportionately affected by economic downturns. This is not a giveaway to large corporations; Measure C is calibrated to support those who need it most.
It is true that a one-year tax holiday provides only temporary relief and does not address the many persistent challenges that run the gamut from higher costs due to inflation and tariffs, rampant retail theft and unsafe working environments, vandalism to property and other public safety challenges, as well as things like to bureaucratic hurdles and a persistent decline in foot traffic that Oakland businesses face.
But it’s an important gesture. Members of the City Council told the editorial board that the city has been working to improve conditions for local businesses on the ground, working to improve efficiency and public safety.
“The mood as a whole,” Unger said, “is that things are incrementally getting better.”
Small businesses are the backbone of Oakland’s economy. Measure C recognizes the importance of nurturing local enterprise from the ground up: A diverse base of small businesses is less vulnerable to economic shocks than a handful of major employers.
Helping these businesses succeed can strengthen the city’s social fabric as well as its economy. We recommend a yes vote.