On: The Big Vote Is Today: Will San Francisco Hang on to Twitter?

[zachallaun]

I question whether or not you read the article...

  Still, there’s a lot of groups in the city lobbying against
  any change in taxes, confusing the issue with “corporate 
  welfare.” I’ve read through some of the materials they are 
  sending out, and while a lot of this is politics, there seems 
  to be a lot of genuine confusion between the nature of the
  way big companies, small businesses and startups work.

This isn't a handout; it's an attempt to fix one of San Francisco's competitive disadvantages. I can't blame Twitter for lobbying against an abusive tax code literally found no where else.

[nickbp → zachallaun]

They're not seeking to modify the code for everyone, only to get a special exemption for themselves.

[zachallaun → nickbp]

The larger goal, however, is to set a precedent for other high-growth pre-IPO's within the city.

[rhizome → zachallaun]

And if they can't get the goal, they'll take the handout.

[anigbrowl → nickbp]

Not true. This change in the tax code is keyed to a particular zone of downtown - Twitter would benefit as a tenant of that area, but so would any other business that moves in there, which is what the city hopes will happen.

[rhizome → zachallaun]

That quote is pretty typical TC blathering of third-hand info roughly translating to "one side says X, the other says Y!"

Hey, if Twitter doesn't like the SF tax code, they're free to move somewhere else, right? It's not like companies are running away from SF otherwise.