SACRAMENTO, CA – Last week, Robert Gutierrez, president of the California Taxpayers Association, penned an opinion piece for The Modesto Bee cautioning voters to be wary of the $12.5 billion-a-year split-roll property tax hike that is currently gathering signatures to qualify for the November 2020 ballot.
Read excerpts of Gutierrez’s op-ed, “Don’t fall for petition on California split-roll property tax,” below:
“Higher property taxes on businesses mean higher prices for consumers on everything we buy, including gasoline, groceries, diapers, clothes and utilities. California already has the highest percentage of population living in poverty, and suffers from the nation’s third-highest cost of living. The split-roll property tax will only make things worse. However, that’s not what signature gatherers will tell you when they approach you at your local grocery store.
“They will tell you all the money goes to schools, yet less than 40 cents of every dollar raised would go to schools, and even that isn’t guaranteed.
“…Even worse, the Legislature will define what constitutes “commercial use” of all property, including residential property. This means the Legislature could erode Proposition 13 protections even further, increasing taxes on Californians at an alarming rate, as was the case before Proposition 13 was approved by voters in 1978.
“The reality is this measure is the first step in repealing Proposition 13 and increasing property taxes on homeowners.”
Californians to Stop Higher Property Taxes, a coalition of businesses, taxpayers, homeowners and renters, has been fighting to protect Proposition 13 and oppose a split roll for more than a decade. For more information, please visit www.StopHigherPropertyTaxes.
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