The Cost of Doing Business: How San Francisco’s Tax Structure Constrains Economic Growth
13th May 2026
In February 2023, the Bay Area Council Economic Institute issued a report that
analyzed business tax structures across 20 of the region’s largest cities. For each of
those cities, we calculated the annual business tax payment for three hypothetical
companies in office-based industries using business tax rates in each jurisdiction. In all
three examples, estimated tax liabilities in San Francisco were far beyond other Bay
Area cities – with only Oakland approaching a similar scale to San Francisco. As such,
we concluded that San Francisco’s business tax regime created a disincentive for
companies to add employment in the city and was a driving force behind relocations to
other parts of the Bay Area.