California Prop 13

[NW-Bound]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kramer I had co-workers with horrid commutes who would rather have moved but they were "stuck" in place due to low property taxes and the threat of high property taxes if they bought another place. With something like Prop 13, you get all kinds of problems and unintended consequences like this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 So Prop 13 is bad for the environment and reduces revenue. Then, with the other hand, CA pays people (with the money they don't have) to buy EVs and hybrids. -ERD50

Well, with the longer commute, people would appreciate the gas mileage of the EVs more.

[Pete]

Thanks everyone. I might be comparing apples to oranges... I'm not really a statistics major. I do know I pay high income tax, registration, sales tax, and high fees of all sorts in Calif. I would think I should at least get a property tax break, but I find out my property tax, even though it's "low" because of prop 13 is still $20 higher than the national average. I certainly can't feel bad about that.

Prop 13 has a benefit even for new buyers. Their property taxes won't raise more than 2% per year either (stability is good), and if they stay a while, the benefits will be big for them too. At least, if they can afford the house now, they won't be taxed out of it because of something they can't control.

I highly doubt California's problems stem from prop 13 anyway...so many of the homes out here are new and I've read Californians move on average every 5 years, negating the benefits.

Please don't be haters. I will still fight to lower your taxes...not raise mine. I still love California. I'm typing this from my laptop as I sun in the 70's.

[mountaintosea]

I pay less than $800. But the real problem with prop.13 is that a business can buy into another business and be grandfathered in so that businesses here pay very little property tax. There's a loophole (of course) I'm not sure how it works but what needs to change is that when a new business buys out another they should be treated like private residences and undergo a reassessment.
Split Roll Property Tax - It's time to close a big tax loophole for businesses - Los Angeles Times

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by NW-Bound Well, with the longer commute, people would appreciate the gas mileage of the EVs more.

And that's OK, let them buy one with their own money, not their neighbor's money.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete Thanks everyone. ... I would think I should at least get a property tax break, ...

At the expense of your neighbors?

Quote:

Please don't be haters. I will still fight to lower your taxes...not raise mine. I still love California. I'm typing this from my laptop as I sun in the 70's.

It's hard not to. You want it all, but want someone else to pay for it. I'm supposed to respect that? How the heck are you going to lower my taxes? More rationalization BS.

You've got your sun & 70's while we got a snowstorm (not that it bothers me, that's why I still live here). So maybe there is a price to be paid for what you like?

-ERD50

[Pete]

Thanks again everyone. This debate has helped me quite a bit.
I think I've learned that basing property tax assessments on a homes value is illogical and sometimes even counterproductive. Some of the consequences I've found are:
1) values of homes being depressed because of high taxes
2) fear of improving my house because of reassessment and rising taxes
3) changing assessments destabilizing the local governments
Even with these problems, it seems most of us live in areas where the assessed price sets property taxes.
I can say most assuredly that basing property taxes on the value of your neighbors house, ever changing as those values are, is even worse.
1) radical changes in taxes that destabilize families
2) purposeful (or not) changing of those taxes based on manipulation by government, banks, real estate developers, and wealthy individuals or groups.
3) people on fixed incomes losing their properties
Therefore, if we continue to base the property taxes we pay on assessed values of homes, I will continue to back prop 13 as a way to add stability.