Author: George Runner

A fire tax bill is coming soon to a mailbox near you. It’s not fair; it’s not constitutional, but thanks to Governor Jerry Brown and

If you fall for an opponent’s head fake in sports, you risk losing the game. The stakes are much higher for taxpayers. If they fall

April 17 was the deadline of another tax filing season, but it was just the start of the Democrats’ 2012 tax initiative season. In fact,

There’s a very important day this week—a day even more significant than when your taxes are due. In the State of California, Tax Freedom Day

There’s an old adage that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. When it comes to politics, it nearly always is.

As an elected member of the California State Board of Equalization, I have the unique privilege of serving as a taxpayer advocate for the citizens

Imagine you found the house of your dreams. The price is $450,000. You sign papers only to later learn the sellers made a mistake. The

Give
Governor Jerry Brown credit. He’s smart enough to recognize that imposing
massive property tax hikes on California’s struggling job creators will hurt,
not help, our state’s economy. And he’s willing to take heat from members of
his own party for his stand.

On August 16, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gave a speech to the
Sacramento Press Club urging "progressives" to "start thinking and acting big
again" in order to "invest… in our economy." He challenged Governor Brown to
have "the courage" to "strengthen" Proposition 13, an important taxpayer
protection measure approved by voters in 1978.

Lest anyone be confused, let me translate: Mayor Villaraigosa has no intention
of "strengthening" the property tax protections in Proposition 13. Instead he
wants to strip away those protections for business owners, including Main
Street mom-and-pop businesses like hair salons, hardware stores and
restaurants.

According the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, an organization that exists
to defend Proposition 13, prior to that measure there were no limits on
property tax rates and assessments. Taxpayers’ properties could be reassessed
50% to 100% in a single year and see their bills jump accordingly. As a result
many taxpayers lost their homes and businesses.