Commercial Property Tax Loophole Resolution

At our October 24, 2013 meeting, we will vote on this Resolution. Please read it and be prepared to vote.

At our July 25, 2013 meeting, we heard from Mark Goodwin of Evolve, speak about an effort to fix Prop 13 by keeping the protections for homeowners, but assessing commercial properties taxes at their fair market value. This single action would restore billions of dollars for education, police, fire, and infrastructure. We have an opportunity to endorse as a club the following Resolution.

CLOSE THE COMMERCIAL PROPERTY LOOPHOLE

WHEREAS, Proposition 13, passed in 1978, is unfair in that it allows commercial property owners to avoid paying their fair share and has shifted the tax burden to residential property and away from business, including everyday homeowners and working families; and

WHEREAS, the state of California continues to face chronic budget crises in large part because Proposition 13 has forced the state to rely on more volatile revenue sources than the property tax, like income taxes and sales taxes paid by working families that move in tandem with economic cycles, causing deficits and requiring cuts to vital services that grow our economy and thereby worsening economic downturns;

WHEREAS, regularly reassessing non-residential commercial property would, according to an analysis of data provided by the California Board of Equalization, generate at least $6 billion in additional revenue for California, and shift the tax burden from homeowners, renters, and working families to corporations and commercial landholders;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the San Ramon Valley Democratic Club supports commercial property tax reform that will require non-residential commercial properties to be reassessed regularly while maintaining residential property owners’ protections under Prop 13; and

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the San Ramon Valley Democratic Club will communicate this position to local elected officials.

Click Here To download a PDF of the Resolution.