Here's Something We're Trying to DO

Written by: mprov on Feb 15, 2007 11:20 PM EST

Linked to groups: Delegates Bulletin Board

The property tax situation here in California, due mostly to Prop. 13, is really quite a mess.  The Prop. was originally designed to give relief to home owners, but there was other language in the law that froze non-residential at a 2% annual growth limit.  I don't pretend to understand the law behind this, but one of our group, Joel Freid, co-authered this resolution, that our group passed 2 nights ago, and that we'll certainly take to the convention in April for consideration.

If those of you in other states have similar situations, i hope this can be of some help.  For those of you who are Californianians, try to get this resolution endorsed by your club, committe, PAC, etc.

[DRAFT] RESOLUTION FOR
SPLIT-ROLL COMMERCIAL PROPERTY TAX FAIRNESS INITIATIVE

WHEREAS: the assessment system for non-residential commercial property
is the most significant failing in our tax system, costing local
governments and schools $4-5 billion annually, allowing corporations,
banks, and other non-residential commercial property owners to take
advantage of loopholes to avoid reassessment even when property changes
ownership, putting the burden of taxation on new investment and
development instead of on the windfall from land ownership, the exact
opposite of the principles of a good tax system, discouraging local
governments from investing in new infrastructure or other public
services, forcing local government to plan big-box retailing projects
to generate sales tax over job-generating smaller commercial business
developments, discouraging infrastructure investment while promoting
sprawl and speculation by driving down the cost of keeping in-fill land
or other vacant land off the market until speculative gains can be
achieved; and

WHEREAS: the commercial property assessment system is broken because it
has increased homeowners’ share of the property tax burden by 25%,
ballooning homeowners’ traditional 32% share to 40% of the property tax
burden, while property taxes paid by nonresidential commercial property
owners has proportionally shrunk, reaping a windfall for the
non-residential owners, including banks and large corporations; and

WHEREAS: to eliminate these failings and injustices California needs a
split-roll property tax assessment system, splitting the property tax
roll between, on one side, homeowners and other residential property
owners, who will pay no additional tax whatsoever, and on the other
side, non-residential commercial property owners, primarily banks and
corporations, who will be required to pay their fair share of property
taxes to provide $4-5 billion annually for California’s under-funded
cities, counties, and schools (ranked 43rd in U.S. in per pupil
spending), hospitals, police, fire, community colleges, universities,
libraries, public transit, and other important local government services

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED: That the __________________________________
[Democratic Club] [Assembly District Committee] [County Central
Committee] [State Central Committee] supports split-roll property tax
reform by amending the California Constitution by initiative, as soon
as possible, to exclude all non-residential real property from the
current two percent ceiling on annual real property assessment
increases, so that non-residential property is assessed fairly at
market value, taking care that this change will be accomplished in a
just way, ensuring that cities, counties, and schools and other local
government agencies receive a fair allocation of revenue and that the
potential burden on small businesses and farms be addressed,

THERFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That a broad-based campaign be
initiated to expose the flaws in the current property tax system and
thereby develop public support to amend the California Constitution to
provide that non-residential commercial property be assessed at fair
market value, and that the California Democratic Party, legislature,
governor, unions, school districts, hospital, public transit and other
special district boards are urged to circulate petitions to present a
split roll initiative to the voters of California as soon as possible.

Adopted by the _____________________________[Club or Committee]
At Its Regular Meeting in ________________ [City or Town]
____________ __, 2007

GREAT idea!

Written by: Carolyn Curtis on Jan 29, 2007 11:04 PM EST

Linked to groups: Delegates Bulletin Board

There's a list of all "progressive" delegates but I firmly believe we need a contact mechanism just for DFA folks. I fail to see how this is "exclusive," esp. given there are at least 2 mechanisms for "progressives" ton contact each other (the Grassroots-delegates-and-officers yahoo group & the list that Tom Brown maintains). THANK YOU for setting this up! see you in San Diego.

 I will contact CA for Democracy about a table at the convention, we've had them in years past.