Much has been said and written – mostly negatively – about the effects of Proposition 13, California’s iconic law limiting property taxes.
Its critics say that Proposition 13, which restricts taxes to 1 percent of property values and caps increases in those values at 2 percent a year, has starved schools and local governments of vital revenue.
However, the latest data on homes, farms and commercial and industrial property, compiled by county property assessors, tell a much different story.
Assessors completed their 2017-18 rolls of taxable property this month and are reporting about a 5 percent statewide gain to approximately $5.75 trillion – yes, that’s trillion with a “t” – in taxable value. That huge figure will translate into at least $65 billion in property taxes, including levies to repay bonds, which are exempt from the 1 percent limit.
Not surprisingly, the highest gains are being recorded in the San Francisco Bay Area, thanks to its red-hot economy and property markets, topped by a nearly 11 percent gain in San Francisco itself.
The most eye-popping number, however, is the immense growth in property tax revenue – well over 50 percent during the last decade alone and about 1,000 percent since 1978, when Proposition 13 was overwhelmingly passed by voters.
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