South Lake Tahoe Voters to Decide on Taxing Vacation Homes an Extra $6,000 Yearly

A ballot measure would slap the extra tax on owners of homes left vacant more than six months of the year. A coalition has formed to fight it.

Supporters of the vacation home tax say the number of vacant homes in South Lake Tahoe has risen 56 percent since 2000. Meanwhile, home prices and rents have also skyrocketed. Jill McLaughlin/The Epoch Times

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif.— Local voters will decide in November whether to impose a yearly tax of up to $6,000 on homes left vacant for more than six months of the year.

Local grassroots organizers of the vacancy tax ballot initiative say the new tax could bring in $34 million each year for housing, transportation, and other programs.