Lyft Takes Legal Action Against San Francisco

Lyft Inc. has initiated a legal battle against San Francisco, accusing the city of improperly levying $100 million in taxes over the past five years.

The lawsuit claims that San Francisco wrongly classified drivers' earnings on the Lyft platform as company revenue, leading to excessive taxation. "Accordingly, Lyft recognizes revenue from rideshare as being comprised of fees paid to Lyft by drivers, not charges paid by riders to drivers. Lyft does not treat drivers as employees for any purpose," the company stated in the court filing.

According to the company, the city's method for calculating payroll, gross receipts, and homelessness taxes violates its constitutional rights, asserting that the formula has unfairly subjected the company to inflated tax bills.