General Motors files $121-million lawsuit against San Francisco city
US carmaker General Motors (GM) has filed a lawsuit against San Francisco, alleging that the city has imposed unfair taxes and interest on the company since 2016.
The company seeks to recover $108 million in taxes and $13 million in interest.
The case was filed in the California Superior Court and the County of San Francisco.
The Detroit-based car manufacturer alleges that higher taxes were charged to it by factoring charges of its autonomous vehicle subsidiary, Cruise.
It further claims that since Cruise operates independently, it should not be included in the company's tax assessment.
The company said that it generated mere sales of $677,000 in San Francisco in 2022, and has limited presence in the city with no employees, manufacturing units or any dealerships.
The lawsuit could have a significant impact on the San Francisco city, given its estimated $800 million budget deficit for the next two years due to a slow recovery from the pandemic.
Mayor London Breed has also instructed all city agencies to cut their budgets by 10% to offset the deficit.
Earlier this year, driverless Cruise was pulled from the market following a collision incident, which raised safety concerns regarding it.
