Which is scarier showing up in your mailbox — Halloween movies from Netflix or your property tax bill? For homeowners, even “The Exorcist” can’t compare in terms of pure fright as the annual envelope from the tax collector’s office. Fortunately, however, homeowners are still able to count on Proposition 13 for protection.
While progressives in the California Legislature continue to target the struggling middle class for ever higher taxes, they have been unable to break Proposition 13. That landmark 1978 initiative limits increases in a property’s assessed value to 2 percent annually and provides most property owners a good idea what their tax bill will be even before opening the envelope.
This predictability in taxation allows homeowners to budget for their taxes and provides assurance against a sudden increase that could result in losing their home to the tax collector. Whether you purchased your property last week, or 30 years ago, Proposition 13 is maintaining a reasonable limit on annual hikes in your property tax.
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Jon Coupal is the President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA). HJTA, with offices in both Los Angeles and Sacramento, is the largest taxpayers association in California with a membership of over 200,000. Founded by the late Howard Jarvis, the author of Proposition 13, HJTA’s name is synonymous with tax relief and the uncompromising defense of the California homeowner.