Californian city could tax large buildings that use natural gas: “Would be very harmful”
BERKELEY, Calif. (TND) — The Berkeley City Council in California voted last week to add a new ballot question to determine whether to impose a tax on large buildings that use natural gas.
The tax would apply to all buildings over 15,000 square feet that use natural gas, excluding government buildings, single-family homes and affordable housing, and would raise an estimated $26.7 million in the first year.
Proponents of the tax submitted over 4,500 signatures in support of its inclusion on the upcoming ballot, exceeding the required number of 2,985. However, the city’s business owners reacted negatively to the proposal.
Emily Winston, owner of local Boichik Bagels, reportedly said the tax could force her to move out of Berkeley.
“The gas appliances I purchased are designed to last for decades,” Winston said in a letter obtained by the Daily Californian. “My intention is to grow my business in Berkeley and stay here for decades. But if I have to pay a fine of nearly half a million dollars every year, I’ll have to seriously consider moving away.”
The David Brower Center, a local venue, also wrote to the city council that the tax would represent a “significant expense for the building, especially given that it has been either making no profit or making a loss since the pandemic began.”
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“While we support electrification, this well-intentioned ballot proposal and its immediate implementation would be very damaging to our crisis-ridden organization,” the Berkeley Repertory Theater said in a statement.
The US Oil and Gas Association in January condemned “leftists” pushing for such climate action, saying the approach appeared hypocritical.
“The left has woken up and is reacting in many of its own ways,” reads one X-post from the group. “You all seem nice. And we know you hate us. And yet you are there, using what we produce in every hour and in every one of your lives. This must be really hard for you.”
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