“Proposition 13, officially titled the “People’s Initiative to Limit Property Taxation,” was a ballot initiative to amend the constitution of the state of California. The initiative was enacted by the voters of California on June 6, 1978. It would eventually be upheld as constitutional by the United States Supreme Court in the case of Nordlinger v. Hahn, 505 U.S. 1 (1992). Proposition 13 is embodied in Article 13A of the California Constitution.
The most significant portion of the act is the first paragraph, which capped real estate taxes:
“ SECTION 1. (a) The maximum amount of any ad valorem tax on real property shall not exceed One percent (1%) of the full cash value of such property. The one percent (1%) tax to be collected by the counties and apportioned according to law to the districts within the counties. ”
Its passage resulted in a cap on property tax rates in the state, reducing them by an average of 57%. In addition to lowering property taxes, the initiative also contained language requiring a two-thirds majority in both legislative houses for future increases in all state tax rates or amounts of revenue collected, including income tax rates. Proposition 13 received an enormous amount of publicity, not only in California, but throughout the United States. Passage of the initiative presaged a “taxpayer revolt” throughout the country that is thought to have contributed to the election of Ronald Reagan to the presidency in 1980.”
Our home is now worth about $800,000.00 because of property value increases. We couldn’t possibly afford this place if we had to buy it today. Our property taxes are about $1,500.00 per year because of the much lower value of the property when we bought it.
I would like to see voter “Taxpayer revolts” in every state. Freepers are just the ones to head it up. Get organized folks!
And what everyone fails to mention is why Prop 13 passed. People on fixed incomes, etc., who had owned their homes for many years were losing them because of escalating property taxes.
Any state without a Prop 13 type property tax cap has a license to steal.
And to those people who think it is ‘not fair’ because my property taxes are lower than theirs....bugger off, life is not fair! ;)
The big problem with Prop 13 is that by allowing assessed basis to be passed along to heirs, it is in effect creating a “landed class”. Two generations is a long time.