San Diegans pay the highest electric rates among big cities in California, according to a report issued today by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
"San Diego Illustrated-A Visual Guide to Taxes & The Economy" uses a series of graphs to show how San Diego stacks up against Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and Fresno in a series of categories, including numbers of workers employed by companies, wages and tax rates.
San Diego residents paid nearly 18 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity in 2013, while industrial users paid over 13 cents, both the highest among the five cities, according to the report. The commercial rate of 16 cents per kilowatt hour was third-highest.
Among other findings:
• the city of San Diego's sales tax rate of 8 percent is the lowest of the five cities
• government's share of San Diego's economy is 21 percent, well above the U.S. average of 12.2 percent, because of the large military presence
• the local economy is also far more reliant on real estate, and the professional, scientific and technical sector than the national norm
• 74 percent of area businesses employ fewer than 10 people, and 5 percent have 50 or more workers
• wages in San Diego surpassed the national average in 2000 and are now 8 percent above the U.S. norm
The report also concluded that California has one of the worst tax climates for businesses, and a higher tax burden overall than other the U.S. average.
"San Diego businesses suffer under the burdensome tax codes levied by our state," said Jerry Sanders, the chamber's president and CEO. "The more we can educate business owners and policymakers on the economic landscape of our region, the better equipped we all are to make sound policy decisions that will continue to drive San Diego business forward."
The report is available online at http://interactive.taxfoundation.org/san-diego-illustrated.
