Repeal regressive taxes, but those on vacation rentals don’t qualify

Re “Let’s force change at City Hall” (Oct. 12): Your idea for a “2022 Restoration Act” signature-gathering campaign is compelling. You have rightly spurred the public to take overdue action against a renegade City Hall. But a tax on short-term vacation rentals should not be lumped in with the shameful trash fees and parking charges, which are regressive taxes that hit underprivileged people the hardest.

A tax on short-term vacation rentals will only cost the people who have been incentivized to siphon badly needed housing out of the residential market. They make far more money renting to tourists than they would have made renting to San Diegans. We can’t build our way out of the affordable housing crisis, but we can take steps to make sure available units aren’t taken out of circulation. Let’s put this on the ballot and let the voters decide.

— Kate Callen, San Diego