Protecting Californians From Arbitrary Tax Hikes

Proposition 13 once protected all taxpayers, homeowners and non-homeowners — by maintaining a 2/3 vote requirement in order to pass most tax increases, including state sales and income tax. Intentionally making it more difficult to raise taxes on residents. Particularly critical with respect to property taxes.

Unfortunately for middle class tax payers, a tax measure entitled “Proposition 39” was approved in 2000 by a thin razor edged margin after a massively budgeted PR & marketing campaign was launched by a few Silicon Valley billionaires who thought it would be advantageous to make middle class homeowners pay for their Silicon Valley corporate tax breaks. Similar to our recent tax breaks for mega-wealthy Americans and high-end corporations. Again, mainly pulled from the pockets of middle class homeowners and working families. A sad testament to tax inequality.

So-called “Proposition 39” revised the 2/3 vote requirement for certain bonds to 55% — making it way too easy to pass those bonds, since they are paid back only through increased property taxes. Again, wealthy hands in the pockets of middle class families.

Property Tax Postponement Instead of Property Tax Relief

The State Controller’s Property Tax Postponement Program allows senior or elderly homeowners, blind homeowners,  and severely disabled property owners, to take advantage of a marginally helpful “tax deferment” affecting this year’s property tax bill. When the more equitable solution would obviously be total or partial exclusion from these property taxes; especially in the midst of a severe Pandemic — with subsequent economic failings and short-comings, with no real end in sight.

Over the past 44 years, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has battled and confronted California based special interest organizations, such as the CA Association of Realtors, groups, bureaucrats, and public-employee unions, among others, who benefit from government spending.

Beginning in 1978, Proposition 13 was determined to protect home ownership from overly greedy, destructive taxation. Therefore California property owners strive to continue enjoying the $528 billion that the Proposition 13 and Proposition 58 (now Proposition 19) Howard Jarvis Tax Revolt has saved homeowners by helping them, overall, to avoid property tax reassessment; allowing families to transfer  property between siblings without a crippling property tax reassessment, avoiding a sibling to sibling buyout.  Enabling beneficiaries to transfer parents property taxes to themselves through property tax transfer relief, when inheriting property, and subsequently inheriting property taxes from a parent — thereby inheriting property while keeping a low property tax base.

Hence, allowing inheritors to keep parents property taxes basically forever… generally with property tax transfer relief from a parent-child transfer — ultimately, through an established parent-to-child exclusion.  Something no California homeowner or beneficiary wants to lose.