OC Politics Blog | Tag Archives: Prop. 13

How Prop. 13 protects against the yo-yo effect

Posted on September 12, 2013 by Editor Posted in California, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Jon Coupal, Property Taxes, Taxes Leave a comment

Howard Jarvis

Prop. 13 Protects Against the Yo-Yo Effect

By Jon Coupal, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

Even for those who aren’t in the market, it’s hard to ignore all the news about rising home prices. According to the California Association of Realtors, median home prices are up nearly 30 percent over just the last year. California has not seen this big of a one year increase since 1977 when it jumped 28.1 percent.

But the huge increase in values in 1977 brought as much anger and fear as anything else because that was just before voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 13 to rein in out of control property taxes. Those taxes were going up as fast as home prices and forcing many from their homes. Continue reading→

Why Chicago’s push for 150% property tax increases can’t happen in CA

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Editor Posted in California, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Jon Coupal, Property Taxes 3 Comments

Where Would We Be Without Prop. 13?

By Jon Coupal, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

DATELINE CHICAGO: Mayor warns property taxes could be going up 150%.

Suppose the mayor of your city announced a property tax hike of 150% or, stated another way, two-and-a-half times your current tax. A homeowner accustomed to paying $2,000, would see their next bill increase to $5,000, while a bill of $4,000 would jump to $10,000. Coincidentally, these amounts roughly approximate the average property tax rate in California just prior to Proposition 13’s passage in 1978 — a tax burden so high many homeowners were forced out of their homes.

An increase of this magnitude may sound farfetched, but not to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who is seriously warning that in order to pay the mounting bill for government employee pensions — a bill that will triple in 2015 when a balloon payment comes due — property taxes could be forced to go up 150%. Needless to say, Chicago residents are not protected against the arbitrary increase in property taxes, a protection that Californians enjoy because of Proposition 13. Homeowners in the Windy City are entirely at the mercy of government officials. Continue reading→

The onslaught against Prop. 13 has begun

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Editor Posted in California, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Jon Coupal, Property Taxes 1 Comment

Howard Jarvis

Onslaught Against Prop. 13

By: Jon Coupal, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

Dear Fellow Taxpayer,

The onslaught against Proposition 13 in the Legislature has begun.

As Howard Jarvis would say, “It’s time to get mad as hell!”

Over the weekend, the Assembly passed Assembly Constitutional Amendment 8, to lower the vote to pass local infrastructure bonds and make it easier to increase taxes on property owners. Click here to read my column on this betrayal of homeowners. Continue reading→

Jim Lacy remembers Howard Jarvis and the power of Prop. 13

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Editor Posted in Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Jim Lacy, Orange County, Property Taxes, Taxes Leave a comment

Jim-Jarviscopy

Howard Jarvis and the Power of Prop. 13

By James Lacy, California Political Review

In the mid-1970s, when I was a law student at Pepperdine and California state chairman of a conservative volunteer group, the Young Americans for Freedom, we began to get visits at the YAF offices from a brusque older gentleman named Howard Jarvis.

I had heard Jarvis during his appearances on Ray Briem’s late-night talk show on KABC radio, on which Jarvis made the case that real property taxes were too high and that somebody damn well ought to do something about them. When he started dropping by our offices, at 1250 Wilshire Blvd, just west of downtown Los Angeles, he emphasized how important it was that our members’ “college-aged students” know all about real property taxes and help him circulate petitions to qualify a ballot proposition to lower them. When I invited Howard to speak to the University of Southern California chapter of YAF in 1977, he readily agreed — and managed to convince about 20 clueless teenagers that they should be concerned about real property taxes that none of them even needed to pay. Continue reading→

After 35 years, Prop. 13 is helping everyone, not just seniors

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Editor Posted in California, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Jon Coupal, Taxes 5 Comments

No, It’s Not Just for Seniors — Prop. 13 Has Something for Everybody

By Jon Coupal, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

This Thursday, the 6th of June, the Western democracies will commemorate the Normandy invasion that marked the beginning of the end of Fascist tyranny in Europe. On the same date, Californians will also celebrate a second liberation, the passage of Proposition 13 which 35 years ago reined in the onerous property tax system and made the passage of new taxes more democratic. Continue reading→

The new Legislature’s assault on Prop 13 begins

Posted on May 22, 2013 by Editor Posted in California, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Jon Coupal, Taxes Leave a comment

Howard Jarvis

The New Legislature’s Assault on Prop 13 Begins

By Jon Coupal, Howard Jarvis Taxpayer’s Association

Last week we alerted California taxpayers as to the immediate threats to Proposition 13 being heard by a California legislative committee. As fully anticipated, the Senate Committee on Governance and Finance approved all six of the anti-Prop 13 proposals.

All of the bills in question would gut one of the most important provisions of Proposition 13 — the two thirds vote requirement for additional “add on” parcel taxes. These “add on” parcel and bond taxes are on top of the property tax homeowners already pay under current law. Continue reading→