On the eve of the 35th anniversary of the voters’ approval of Proposition 13, the California Taxpayers Association released a research report examining the effects of the landmark initiative, and presenting empirical evidence that there has been no shift of the property tax burden from businesses to homeowners.
Proposition 13 Revisited: A look at California’s property tax 35 years after passage of Proposition 13 uses data from the State Board of Equalization to provide an in-depth review of the property tax and Proposition 13. The report explains the property tax problems that existed prior to passage of Proposition 13, and how the initiative addresses them.
With Proposition 13 still making headlines more than three decades after winning voters’ overwhelming approval, it is a good time to step back and look at the actual impact of the initiative. Using data from the state agency that oversees the property tax, rather than anecdotes or cherry-picked examples involving individual properties or disputes that are pending in court, this report gives a clear picture of how Proposition 13 is working.
The report’s findings, based on the BOE data, lead to three primary conclusions:
* Homeowners remain the largest beneficiaries of Proposition 13’s property tax assessment protections. The property tax burden has not shifted from businesses to homeowners due to Proposition 13.
* Proposition 13’s assessment limits make the property tax a stable revenue source not subject to volatile changes in the real estate market.
* Even with rate limits, the property tax is a growing source of revenue to fund government services.