REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Introduce an Ordinance to Amend Chapter 5.04 of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code - Business License Tax Ordinance to Reflect Changes to the Consumer Price Index Published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics
BACKGROUND
Chapter 5.04 of the Sunnyvale Municipal Code, also known as the Business License Tax Ordinance, was established in 1968. The ordinance requires all businesses that operate in Sunnyvale to obtain a license and pay a business license tax to conduct business in the City.
In November 2005, Sunnyvale voters approved Measure D, which increased the business license tax and tied future tax increases to the All Urban Consumers Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the San Jose/San Francisco/Oakland MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area). In February 2018, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics published new geographic area samples for the CPI to reflect the data from the 2010 Decennial Census on the distribution of urban populations. As a result of the 2018 geographic revisions, the San Jose/San Francisco/Oakland MSA has been revised and renamed the San Francisco/Oakland/Hayward CBSA (Core Based Statistical Area). City staff has confirmed with the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics that the San Francisco/Oakland/Hayward CBSA (Core Based Statistical Area) is the successor index for the San Jose/San Francisco/Oakland MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area) and provides substantially equivalent statistical analysis of consumer price escalation in the greater Bay Area geographic region that includes the City of Sunnyvale.
Staff is requesting that the ordinance be amended to reflect the changes to the Consumer Price Index. The Municipal Code needs to be amended to reflect this successor index for future tax increases to be calculated.
EXISTING POLICY
Council Policy 7.1B.1.4 states that when considering a new tax or revenue source or an increase in an existing tax or revenue source, community/voter acceptance should be ...
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