In a Sacramento Bee article by Dowell Myers , a professor in the Sol Price School of Public Policy at the University of Southern California., he asks if "Today's emerging story undercuts every premise of the old beliefs." His essay is drawn from "California Futures: New Narratives for a Changing Society," which appears in the Summer 2012 issue of Boom – A Journal of California.
One of the 358 comments on his article was from Parcelquest with this link:
http://parcelquest.wordpress.com/2012/04/19/the-other-prop-8/
- adding more fuel to the mix.
As I hoped, the grassroots discussion has begun.
If you don't live in California, and even if you do, you may not be familiar with Proposition 13. It passed in 1979 and was championed by Howard Jarvis, a retired businessmen and tax crusader.
The late 70's saw the first surge in Real Estate prices. Since property taxes where assessed every year rates jumped as much as tenfold. One of the consequence's was senior citizen homeowners losing their homes.
So there was a need to do something.
There is again - now. Ask Christopher Thornberg here.
On the 4th of July I gave this speech at T. Willard Hunter Speakers Corner,
a Claremont tradition.
Son of
Prop 13
Question:
What if
we reduced the property tax rate to ½ %
Based
on CURRENT property values?
WELL
FIRST…
It would stimulate the housing market, making it easier for New
homeowners to afford to purchase a home. Avg monthly savings (based on $400K
home) would be $200 per month. A
difference maker.
New homes and current stock sales will increase: creating jobs in real estate, escrow, mortgage,
more. and NEW construction. Real jobs we need now.
It would also return fairness & balance to the tax laws. Now,
neighbors with the same house in the same complex pay vastly different amounts.
An example: In my PUD there are 4 different models, 75 homes : 25% pay
aprox $ 2000 per year, 40 % pay aprox $ 3000 p/y, 15 % pay aprox $4000 p/y and 20 % pay almost
$5000 per year. Even w/ falling values
Prop 13 was needed to protect Senior homeowners from being taxed out of
their homes by the first wave of raising property values in the 70’s.
homes went from an Avg value of
$ 4-10k in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s to $100k and beyond by the 80’s
So prop 13 was needed to solve a real problem.
PROTECT SENIOR
HOMEOWNERS from EVICTION.
But as often happens with good ideas, the lawyers and lobbyists got
their hands on it and found a loophole….
A Huge one, Commercial property owners found ways to
transfer title of properties
Without having new current values used to create a new property tax
rate! This means that 1,000’s of commercial buildings in every major city in
California
skyscrapers, commercial complexes, farms large and small are still
PAYING ON 20, 30, even 40 YEAR OLD VALUES. THEY ARE NOT
PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE TO THE STATE, counties, cities and schools.
They are not paying the True cost of Operating state and local
Governments for infrastructure that they use every day. How can they when they avoid paying the
current rate at the time of sale?
When Sacramento saw the diminishing revenue that would be coming
because of this loophole, they changed the Law so that the got ALL the prop tax
$‘s, money that used to go directly to
counties, cities and schools had to go through them first.
This is why our local Governments are broke. They only get the crumbs from
Sacramento!
And now we are starting to see cities go bankrupt!
Now I know Sacramento spends like a drunken sailor on shore leave, but there
is a real problem.
The dot com bubble in the 90’s gave an infusion of capitol gains that
covered up the real problem. What did Sacramento do ? Spend more…..
Then the R E boom in the 1st half of 2000’s saved them again. Did they learn their lesson? NO!
But now its reality time:
Sacramento Stop spending and get us out of this hole YOU put us in. but
HOW?
Son of Prop 13 will do what the original intended:
PROTECT SENIORS FROM RISING PROP VALUES
An example: 65 and above who lived in same home more than 10 years
grandfathered at their current levels.
No changes. more recent owners will
save!
So with a ½ % property tax: what will happen?
Since more than half of properties pay less now @ 1% then they will at ½ %
There will be an infusion of funds into the state treasury. Tens and
hundreds of billions of dollars.
In order for this to work, IT
MUST BE TIED INTO THE LAW THAT THIS NEW REVENUE
WILL ONLY GO TO PAY DOWN THE DEBT.
PERIOD,
How:
NO NEW Appropriations’ for Three years -
NO new programs, No new NOTHING.
This will be OUR only leverage to stop Sacramento from spending.
Why would they Otherwise ???
We must
pay down this ruinous debt.
The interest alone will soon destroy our ability to provide even the most
basic of services.
We MUST pay it down for our children’s future!
Then we build a REAL Reserve Fund equal to 75% of the previous 3 years budgets.
It will
protect us from Economic swings to come.
Jarvis’s original intent was to protect the senior homeowner - who
worked their entire life to have economic security in their own home.
Son of Prop 13 does this.
Commercial property owners have gotten away with this for too long.
They know that since some
homeowners will pay more too,
they can scare us into letting them continue this unethical practices.
We’ve been bribed by our own self interest! Even though we know neighbors, friends and
even family who pay Way More than we do for comparable properties, We take
pride in it, as if we did something smart, in paying less Then Our Fair
Share TOO!
Some will get real relief from excessively high prop taxes. Those who purchase in the last 10 or so
years.
For the majority of prop owners they will see an increase.
To ease us into the new rates:
I propose a gradual over 5 years adjustment.
For residential the first year pay 60% of the new rate, then 70%, 80%,
90% then the full new rate.
For Commercial gradual over the next 3 years:
First year pay 65%, then to 80%
, then the new rate.
This is fair because Commercial has benefited the most from this unfair
system.
That’s right, We’ve been under an unbalanced system for the last 40
years-
its time to fix it and the problems it has created.
Join me in a grassroots discussion
of a common sense idea :
WE ALL PAY THE SAME RATE
ON THE SAME CURRENT
PROPERTY VALUES.
Protect Seniors,
not everyone else.
Thank you
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