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With 100% of precincts ballots counted, Santa Clara County voters overwhelmingly supported adding 0.625% to the county sales tax rate for five years.
As of 10:50pm, the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters reported 200,430 YES votes and 152,850 NO votes, a margin of more than 47,000 votes.
Voter turnout was reported to be 34%, with 362,704 votes cast.
Nearly 57% of Santa Clara County voters approved of an increase in local sales taxes that county officials say is necessary to help offset dramatic cuts in federal aid by the Trump Administration, mostly in health care.
The approval of the additional 0.625% in county sales taxes propels half of the county into double-digit territory.
The sales tax increase needed only a simple majority of county voters to be enacted, because it is an unrestricted tax that can be spent for any county government purpose.
County officials said the higher taxes are needed to close a projected billion-dollar budget shortfall they say is the result of the “Big Beautiful Bill” approved by a Republican Congress and signed by President Trump.
The countywide sales tax will increase to 9.75%. The increase will be rolled back in five years.
County Executive James Williams said the county can collect more than $330 million over five years from the five-eighths-cent additional sales tax.
Purchases made in the cities of San Jose and Milpitas, which have city sales taxes as well, will have a 10% tax. Campbell businesses will collect 10.5%, the county’s highest rate. Consumers in Los Gatos will pay 9.875%.
The sales tax adds $187.50 to the price of a $30,000 car, and $1.25 to a $200 non-exempt retail purchase.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors approved the tax in a special meeting Aug. 7 after Metro Silicon Valley reported that about 30% of the county’s budget is now compromised by cuts to federal healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid—distributed by the state as Medi-Cal.
Santa Clara County Executive James Williams forecast Thursday that county revenue would suffer a $1.3 billion loss by the 2029-30 fiscal year without a revenue increase at the county level.
About 70% of the county’s public healthcare system, which has expanded rapidly in recent years, is funded by Medicare and Medicaid.
Prop 35, passed by California voters in November to expand Medicaid funding, will no longer take effect as a result of the immediate impacts of HR1. State leaders need to fill in the financial gap for counties like Santa Clara, Williams said.
“HR1 has punched a huge hole in our safety net,” Board President Otto Lee said. “Our county operates four hospitals and dozens of clinics in addition to supporting community clinics.”
Medicare is a federal health insurance program benefiting people older than 65 along with younger people with disabilities, while Medicaid provides benefits to low-income adults and children. Medicaid is the single largest source of federal revenue for the County of Santa Clara, representing about $1.9 billion of its budget.
The Valley Healthcare System is the primary care provider for one in four county residents.
Williams said a combination of cuts in services and the sales tax increase are necessary for Santa Clara County to sustain service levels at the 15-hospital and clinic Valley Healthcare System.
The largest portion of the county sales tax rate is a state levy of 7.25%. County governments – and many cities – add additional sales taxes. In the Bay Area, the current sales tax rates vary from a low of 8.625% in San Francisco to a high of 10.25% in Alameda County, where consumers buying products in four cities – Alameda, Albany, Newark and San Leandro – pay a 10.75% sales tax.
Current sales taxes in 65 California cities are at 10% or higher – 47 in Los Angeles County. The proposed new Santa Clara County property tax rate would match the current Los Angeles County rate.
Statewide, the city of Lancaster in Los Angeles County has the highest local sales tax rate, at 11.25%, according to the California Department of Tax and Revenue.
