Just days before the Nov. 5 election, Miami Beach commissioners voted to rescind a referendum that would have created a tax to fund services for people experiencing homelessness and victims of domestic violence.
Why it matters: This move nullifies the votes of thousands of residents who have already cast their ballots ahead of next week’s elections.
Catch up quick: Referendum 8, known as the Homeless and Domestic Violence Tax, sought to impose a 1% tax on food and beverage sales at qualifying restaurants and bars in Miami Beach.
- The tax, already in effect in dozens of cities across Miami-Dade County, would fund work by the county Homeless Trust to build housing for the unsheltered and domestic violence centers.
- A majority of Beach voters supported the idea of the tax in a 2021 straw ballot and the previous City Commission approved the ballot language last year.
The latest: Commissioners voted 4-3 to call off the referendum, arguing that the tax money would be spent outside Miami Beach and criticizing the campaign to pass the referendum as misleading.