An initiative passed narrowly by voters in 2020 to protect wildfire victims and seniors has opened the door to massive tax increases that threaten tenants and the roof over their heads. Proposition 19 removed important taxpayer protections from the state constitution that for 35 years guaranteed that parents or grandparents...
California’s Death Tax Unleashed a Callous Tax Increase on Californians Grieving the Death of a Loved One
Californians face some of the highest taxes in the nation. We have the highest gas, personal income, and state sales tax in the country. Yet, for 35 years we haven’t had a death tax, until the narrow passage of Prop. 19 in 2020. Proposition 19 resurrected the Death Tax on hard-working...
Devil is in the details of Prop. 19
This last November California voters, by an overwhelming 51%, passed Proposition 19, the Property Tax Transfers, Exemptions and Revenue for Wildfire Agency and Counties Amendment. The constitutional amendment modifies Proposition 13, officially named the People’s Initiative to Limit Property Taxation that voters approved in 1978. Previous columns have supported Prop....
‘Death tax’ hurts Fresno County’s farmers, ranchers, small businesses and homeowners
By Paul Dictos and Tom J. Bordonaro Jr. In November 2020, California’s Constitution was changed with the narrow passage of Proposition 19 — quietly bringing back the death tax for the first time in 35 years. While Prop. 19 contained some positive elements, a little noticed aspect of the initiative...
Another Voice: California voters should repeal the Death Tax
"For many Californians, a home or small business is their primary means of building a legacy to pass on to their children or grandchildren. The Death Tax destroys this dream," writes Kerry Smith, president of Commercial Loan Corp. Click here to read the article in the Sacramento Business Journal.
Death tax ballot initiative to “fix” last year’s Proposition 19 tax hike
In November 2020, California voters unfortunately narrowly approved Proposition 19, which is known as “The Home Protection for Seniors, Severely Disabled, Families, and Victims of Wildfire or Natural Disasters Act.” Under Proposition 19, homeowners 55 and older or that are disabled pay lower property taxes when moving to a new,...
Opinion: Repealing Death Tax will help family businesses stay afloat
The COVID-19 pandemic hit many family-owned businesses hard. Now as California emerges from the crisis, those businesses are still struggling to stay afloat. There are 1.4 million family businesses in California. They provide jobs for seven million Californians. These businesses improvised, innovated and gave their blood, sweat and tears to...
Do progressives support gentrification?
By Jon Coupal Support is growing for the idea that parents can help their families climb the economic ladder by building generational wealth through property ownership. Surprisingly, this support has even been spotted in the opinion pages of the Los Angeles Times. It’s surprising because the Times has previously taken...
California’s tax on inherited properties hurts minority communities
Housing. It’s an issue full of inequities that continue to impact minority and Black families in California. Whether it was redlining in the 1930s, a discriminatory practice of denying financial services to residents of certain areas based on their race or ethnicity, or racist language embedded in property records, people...
HOWARD JARVIS GROUP AIMS TO KILL “DEATH TAX”
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is recruiting an army of volunteers for a new initiative to repeal the “death tax” that was a little-noticed provision in last November’s Proposition 19. HJTA filed the initiative, No. 21-0015, with the attorney general’s office in August and is aiming to qualify the measure...