City Hall Helps City Artists

In a tip of the hat to Santa Barbara’s legion of struggling artists, the City Council approved an increase in the amount of money artists can earn from their sales before having to pay business taxes. Currently, the threshold is $1,200 a year. Under the new rules, that would be lifted to $5,000. City finance administrator Bob Samario said he’s not sure how many artists might be positively affected by the change, but estimated it could cost City Hall “a few thousand dollars a year in potential revenue.” Samario also acknowledged that the paperwork involved in tracking such sales and collecting taxes is not without its costs.