San Francisco mayoral candidate Mark Farrell has a plan to get workers back into downtown offices — and it doesn't include commuter benefits or coffee machines.
Farrell, a venture capitalist who served as interim mayor of the California city in 2018, wants to offer tax incentives to companies that make employees come into the office at least four days a week.
"One of the biggest issues in downtown today is that it is a ghost town," Farrell said. "We need to mandate days of the week back in the office."
If companies agree to bring in their workers at least four days a week, Farrell said he would reduce the gross-receipts tax that they owe the city. He declined to specify how much of a reduction in taxes the incentive will offer or how the plan would affect the city budget.
Gross receipts refers to the total revenue of a business, including sales, services and rentals. In 2022, the tax generated about
Farrell, 50, is a leading contender in the race for San Francisco mayor in November. His main challengers are incumbent Mayor London Breed, Daniel Lurie, an heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, and local politician Aaron Peskin. All four candidates in the famously liberal city are Democrats.
Farrell's proposal was met with skepticism from some experts who doubted the enforceability of the plan.
"It won't work in practice," said Stanford University economics professor Nicholas Bloom, an expert on work arrangements. "What is the city going to do? Are they going to ask for swipe records? Are they going to use facial recognition software? How do you enforce it? You just can't."
Farrell's proposed office mandate is part of his broader 20-year plan to rejuvenate San Francisco's struggling downtown.
The city has the highest office-vacancy rate among large U.S. metro areas, at more than 36%, according to data compiled by CBRE. One report estimates it could take
Breed's campaign dismissed Farrell's tax-incentive plan, saying the idea has failed elsewhere.
"Tax incentives aren't enough to change company policy, so you are generally just paying businesses to do what they were going to do anyway," the campaign said in a statement. "Mayor Breed has focused on stabilizing the city's business taxes overall and making sure that our tax system incentivizes in-office work as opposed to working from home."
Reviving downtown has been a primary focus for Breed since the pandemic. She has introduced a plan to bring 30,000 new residents to downtown by 2030 and helped increase funding to the police to help control crime. She's also focused on bringing entertainment and nightlife to downtown.
Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, donated to a political action committee supporting Breed's reelection.
