Strategy

The greater the range of industries and sectors in a city, the better it is able to withstand economic shifts and disruptions. A diverse economy supports a wider variety of jobs accessible to workers with a range of skills and experience. San Francisco’s economy already includes a broad array of industries including finance and real estate, information and technology, healthcare, hospitality and entertainment, education, transportation, and more. We will bolster our existing businesses to maintain the strength of our economic foundation. As business models continue to shift, creating unprecedented office availability Downtown, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to recruit new sectors and businesses that will position us competitively for the future and add to our resilience.

 

Initiatives

• Support business recovery with ongoing tax relief and incentives in key sectors. 

• Explore business tax reform to adapt to shifting work patterns and make our tax base more resilient and competitive. 

• Launch a business attraction campaign to bring new ventures in high-potential industries to San Francisco. 

• Continue attracting convention and business travel with the Moscone Recovery Fund. 

• Increase filming in Downtown to promote San Francisco’s image and develop the local film industry. 

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Tax relief and incentives

Mayor Breed’s 2023-24 budget includes tax policies to support existing businesses still struggling to recover from the pandemic and attract new businesses to locate in San Francisco. 

• Gross Receipts Tax relief for businesses in industries that were most impacted by the pandemic, include retail, restaurants, hospitality, the arts, entertainment and others. Taxes that would have increased will instead be capped at current levels until 2025. 

• A new Office Attraction Tax Credit will provide a discount for new office-based businesses in the Administrative and Support Services, Information, Insurance, and Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services industries on their Gross Receipts Tax for up to three years through 2028.

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Business tax reform

The Mayor and Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin have convened a process to be led by the Controller’s and Treasurer’s offices that will make recommendations for business tax reforms for possible inclusion on the November 2024 ballot. The reform process aims to make San Francisco’s tax base more resilient, competitive, and fair to businesses.

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Business attraction campaign

Attracting new businesses and expanding the diversity of San Francisco’s economy will require proactive and coordinated efforts to recruit targeted businesses and sectors.

• The Office of Economic and Workforce Development (OEWD) has commissioned KPMG and the Bay Area Council Economic Institute to identify high-potential industries where San Francisco appears most competitive, and recommend strategies to proactively recruit and attract these sectors.

• Based on these recommendations, OEWD will develop business attraction campaigns to target new or expanding industries with a high potential for growth in San Francisco.

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Moscone Recovery Fund

Mayor Breed has committed $4.6 million in funding to support a return of conventions, conferences, trade shows and other large events to Moscone Center, by reducing convention rates through 2024 to attract event organizers back to San Francisco.

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Film in San Francisco

Film SF is developing new ways to market San Francisco and grow its brand – bringing economic activity to the city during shooting and supporting local filmmakers, while promoting widespread interest from film viewers across the world. 

• In 2023, the Mayor successfully passed a package of film attraction enhancement programs designed to attract more filming to San Francisco as well as reforms to the film permitting process.

 

See our other economic recovery strategies

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