Toronto and Ottawa Show What Happens When You Have to Prove You Live at Home

Measure A supporters want San Diegans to believe this will be simple.

Other cities show the opposite.

In Toronto and Ottawa, vacancy taxes became exactly what San Diegans should fear: an annual paperwork chore for regular residents who had to prove they lived in their own homes.

That is not housing policy.

That is bureaucracy.

Toronto: An Annual Chore to Prove You Live at Home

In Toronto, residents complained they did not understand they would have to keep filing declarations every year just to prove their homes were not vacant.

Some people who lived in their own homes still received vacancy tax bills.

Seniors had to jump through hoops.

Residents were forced into online complaint systems.

Even people who clearly lived in their homes had to fight City Hall to fix mistakes.

That is the danger of Measure A.

Once the government creates an occupancy tax, the burden falls on residents to prove they should not owe it.

Ottawa: Red Tape, Audits, and Wrongful Tax Bills

Ottawa had the same problem.

Local officials called the vacancy tax a bureaucratic burden.

Residents were audited and asked to provide proof such as months of utility bills, vehicle registration, government-issued ID, or other documents.

One local official warned that the tax captured too many people who should not have been captured.

That is exactly what happens when City Hall creates a tax based on whether a home was occupied enough days.

Mistakes happen.

Paperwork gets missed.

People who do not owe the tax get pulled into the system.

Measure A Would Bring This Problem to San Diego

Measure A puts the burden on property owners to prove they qualify for exemptions and exclusions.

Every year.

Under rules City Hall has not even finished writing yet.

That means regular San Diegans could be forced to prove their home was occupied, prove their paperwork was good enough, or fight the City if they are wrongly billed.

And if City Hall decides they owe the tax?

That could mean up to $10,000.

Don’t Create This Mess in San Diego

San Diego voters do not need to guess what vacancy taxes become.

Other cities have already shown us.

They become paperwork traps.

They become audit systems.

They become annual chores.

They become bureaucratic fights for people who never should have been caught in the first place.

Measure A would bring that same mistake to San Diego.

Don’t make San Diegans prove they live in their own homes.

Vote No on Measure A.

‍