Jon Coupal, President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
It’s been a long year in the Capitol for those of us who advocate against higher taxes, crushing regulations and wasteful government spending. The good news is that California taxpayers have prevailed in virtually all the major tax fights this year. The bad news is that, because the legislature convenes for two year sessions, this is only halftime. On January 4, 2016 – less than 4 months from now – the same cast of characters will reconvene and we will have to fight many of the same battles yet again. Still, it is helpful to assess how homeowners and working Californians fared in the legislative process this year.
For Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, there is no higher priority than defending Proposition 13 against attacks. As a constitutional amendment, Prop 13 cannot be amended by the Legislature directly. But that doesn’t mean the politicians can’t inflict harm. Indeed, with a two-thirds vote of each house, the California Legislature can place proposed constitutional amendments on the ballot. And if an anti-Prop 13 measure is sufficiently enticing or deceptive, voters might unwittingly take away some of their own rights as taxpayers.
This past year, there were three such proposals. Two were efforts to lower the two-thirds vote requirement at the local level as a condition for higher taxes. This is an important part of Prop 13 because the higher vote threshold was put in place to prevent local governments from taking away the benefits of Prop 13’s reduced property tax burden by simply imposing new or higher levels of other local taxes. The third attack on Prop 13 was an effort to take away the provision that limits annual increases in the taxable value of property to two percent. Although not affecting all property owners, this dangerous bill was simply “Step 1” for the complete repeal of Prop 13.
To read the entire column click here http://www.hjta.org/california-commentary/legislative-session-ends-with-taxpayers-tired-but-victorious/