Measure will ultimately drive up prices for all consumers
SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, proponents of the flawed $12.5 billion a year split-roll property tax measure announced they have begun gathering signatures for their second, equally flawed split-roll property tax measure, which, if passed, will be the largest tax increase in California history.
“Since it passed more than 40 years ago, more than 60 percent of voters consistently support Proposition 13 as the most important taxpayer protection by providing certainty for all Californians. To get support for their measure, proponents are misrepresenting that it ‘protects Prop 13,’ even though it is the most direct assault on Prop 13 since its passage,” stated Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable. “Proponents have had multiple chances to support strengthening Prop 13 in the Legislature, but they kill the bill every time. Make no mistake, they don’t want to protect Prop 13; if they are successful removing Prop 13’s protections for businesses, they will immediately turn their attention to residential property taxes next.”
The campaign, desperate for support, is deceiving voters as signature gathers are telling them that the measure will protect Prop 13 – the exact opposite of the measure’s intended purpose. This comes after a September poll by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) found that only 47 percent of likely voters support a split-roll property tax, but 64 percent of likely voters support Prop 13, according to a PPIC poll earlier this year.
“This $12.5 billion a year property tax increase will hurt the pocketbooks of seniors living on fixed-incomes, hardworking families, and all Californians. Ultimately, the split-roll property tax will drive up the cost of living in one of the most expensive states in the country and make life even more difficult for those already struggling to get by,” said Deborah Howard, Board Member of the California Senior Advocates League. “California already has the highest percentage of population living in poverty. Destroying Prop 13 will put more families in jeopardy.”
“This split-roll measure will increase Californians’ taxes by billions of dollars per year and make the state’s housing affordability crisis even worse. At a time when California has a $22 billion general fund budget surplus and $36 billion set aside in reserves, this is no time to raise taxes,” said Robert Gutierrez, President of the California Taxpayers Association.
“The split roll property tax measure will be a sledgehammer to brick and mortar retail and will harm working families across California as it will drive up costs for the goods and services we buy every day – like groceries, utilities, diapers, prescriptions, clothing, day care, health care and even gas,” said Rachel Michelin, President of the California Retailers Association. “This measure will make our state even more unaffordable and hurt all Californians.”
“Don’t be fooled by the disingenuous split-roll property tax campaign. Despite their claims that small businesses are exempt, every small business – even those that rent their properties – will be forced to pay. Chipping away at Proposition 13’s protections will result in higher rents for mom-and-pop businesses that are already struggling to keep their doors open,” said John Kabateck, State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business – CA.
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.org.
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