By Chuck McFadden/Calbuzz
As a political matter, Proposition 13 is sacred. It’s been described by lazy reporters as the “Third Rail of California Politics” so often that you probably want to hurl every time you hear the phrase.
As a policy matter, however, Proposition 13 rests on a fundamental inequity: it provides a gaping, pro-corporate loophole that pushes the statewide burden for property onto single-family and other residential homeowners. As Calbuzz has reported, data from the Board of Equalization and county assessors proves that “in virtually every county in the state, the share of the property tax borne by residential property has increased since the passage of Prop 13 in 1978, while the share of the property tax borne by non-residential property has decreased.”
Forget fairness, though: If you want to start taxing business the same way you tax homeowners, you’ll have every chamber of commerce in the state and taxpayer groups come down on you like Chris Christie on a chocolate éclair. Not that it would count for much, but the Republican Party would oppose any modification as well. Unless you’re heavily into masochism, forget it.
↧