The California Assessors’ Association (CAA) announced June 3 that it opposes the split-roll property tax increase that recently qualified for the November ballot because the measure would be nearly impossible to implement.
“The implementation costs and administrative issues raised by our analysis have only become more problematic due to pending budget cuts and hiring freezes which are being implemented by counties across the State,” CAA President Don Gaekle, assessor for Stanislaus County, wrote in a letter to lawmakers. “Current local budgetary realities will make implementation of the initiative extremely difficult.”
Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone went further during June 4 testimony to a joint hearing of the Assembly Local Government Committee and the Assembly Revenue and Taxation Committee, saying: “This is a seriously flawed ballot measure, and it should be defeated.”
Stone, who said he was speaking on behalf of the CAA “representing all 58 assessors,” added:
“The California Assessors’ Association has completed a comprehensive analysis of the split-roll ballot measure with only one question in mind: Can assessors implement the initiative? Our conclusion is we cannot. It would be impossible – not difficult, but impossible – to administer all of the provisions of the measure as it is written.”
The “Schools and Communities First” measure (Initiative 19-0008) seeks to repeal Proposition 13 protections for commercial and industrial property owners, and require market-value reassessment of commercial and industrial properties every three years. Proponents – including the California Teachers Association, the Service Employees International Union and other public employee unions – estimate that the changes would amount to a property tax increase of $12 billion per year on the owners of these properties.
Partial Lost of Opponents to split-roll include:
California Assessors Association
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Ventura County Taxpayers Association
California Taxpayers Association
California Chamber of Commerce
California Farm Bureau Federation
California Business Properties Association
Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association
About the Ventura County Taxpayers Association (VCTA)
The Ventura County Taxpayer’s Association (VCTA) is a non-partisan 501(C)(4) organization emphasizing issues that affect Ventura County. We inform taxpayers, promote the wise use of public funds, oppose waste, advise public officials regarding issues of concern to taxpayers and recommend positions that will best serve the taxpayers’ interests. VCTA has been looking out for the interests of taxpayers in Ventura County since 1954 – over 60 years. VCTA believes in efficient, effective and transparent government.
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