(The Center Square) \u2013 Officials with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association are concerned about efforts to raise property taxes on California\u2019s homeowners, a representative of the organization told The Center Square this week.<\/p>\n
The trepidation that the state\u2019s homeowners might see property taxes go up stems from transfer-tax loopholes, the proposed billionaires\u2019 tax and the state\u2019s budget deficit, according to organization officials and a letter sent earlier this month by the group to its members.<\/p>\n
The letter explained that California used to have a small 0.11% transfer tax on the transfer of ownership when property changed hands, which was kept from increasing by Proposition 13. A series of court decisions in the years after Prop. 13 passed in 1978 then allowed \u201ccharter cities\u201d to institute their own transfer taxes that were much higher than the 0.11% limit imposed by Prop. 13, according to the letter from the well-known taxpayers organization.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a situation in California where there\u2019s not only a state budget deficit, but all the cities and counties are under pressure because of pension obligations and liability judgements,\u201d said Susan Shelley, vice president of communications for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re under tremendous budget pressure, and they\u2019re all looking for tax increases,” Shelley told The Center Square. “So we\u2019ve seen more and more of what we consider to be unconstitutional taxes being enacted anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n
The proposed billionaires\u2019 tax, too, is causing concern at the taxpayers association.<\/p>\n
The effort to pass the tax is sponsored by Service Employees International Union \u2013 Healthcare Workers West (SEIU-UHW). The proposal is to impose a one-time 5% tax on California residents whose wealth exceeds $1 billion, according to documents<\/a> from the California Attorney General\u2019s Office and previous reporting by The Center Square<\/a>.<\/p>\n California Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/a> has voiced his opposition<\/a> to the measure, according to multiple news reports.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is an entirely new kind of tax,\u201d Shelley told The Center Square. \u201cThis is not a tax on income. This is not a tax on sales. This is not a tax on capital gains. This is a tax on existing property.\u201d<\/p>\n It’s no consolation that the tax only affects those with $1 billion or more in wealth, Shelley continued.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce they put this in place, where everyone has to tell the government everything they own and what its value is every year, then there\u2019s a mechanism in place to tax retirement funds, home equity, possessions,\u201d Shelley told The Center Square. \u201cThat\u2019s never happened in America before, where people\u2019s possessions would be taxed just because they own them. We are very concerned about that, and we believe it would totally come down to the middle class very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n Also at issue is the state\u2019s projected $18 billion budget deficit, which the Legislative Analyst\u2019s Office<\/a> reported in November.<\/p>\n While Newsom released a budget proposal<\/a> earlier this month that puts the state\u2019s deficit at only $2.9 billion, the LAO said the multi-year deficits caused by the governor\u2019s budget would prove to be alarming, as previously reported by\u00a0The Center Square<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re very concerned about the long-term effect of so much debt at the state level,\u201d Shelley told The Center Square.<\/p>\n