Mayor Edwin M. Lee today issued the following statement on the Board of Supervisors’ final unanimous approval to place the consensus business tax reform proposal on the November 2012 ballot. If approved by the voters in November, the measure will end San Francisco’s direct tax on jobs, create more than 1,750 new jobs on an average annual basis and generate new general fund revenue for housing, infrastructure and economic development:

“After years of debate and failed attempts, today we took a historic step towards reforming our business tax system so we no longer punish companies for creating jobs in our City. With strong support from the Board of Supervisors, business, organized labor and community organizations, San Francisco has sent a powerful message that it’s time to end our City’s direct tax on jobs and unleash the full potential of our innovators, small businesses and entrepreneurs.

I want to thank Controller Ben Rosenfield, City Economist Ted Egan and their hardworking staff for their months of effort to develop a fair, equitable and broad-based business tax reform measure. I applaud President David Chiu and Supervisor John Avalos and other members of the Board of Supervisors for their leadership on business tax reform and for working together with my office, the business community and many other organizations to reach consensus. I look forward to working together to win support for this consensus business tax reform measure this November so we can continue helping businesses create jobs in our City and fund housing and other critical infrastructure and economic development priorities that strengthen our economic recovery.”

Earlier today, Mayor Lee joined members of the Board of Supervisors and representatives from business, labor and community organizations to rally support for the consensus business tax reform measure on the steps of City Hall. The measure will now appear on the November 2012 ballot in San Francisco and requires a simple majority approval from voters.