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

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. But a coalition of local organizations and residents opposes the idea and has formed a political action committee to fight it. “We’re going to do everything we can to educate people as to why this is worse than a bad idea,” said Steve Teshara, director of government relations for the Tahoe Chamber and a member of the coalition. “It’s like taxation without representation.”...