[quote=EconProf]States tend to have four major tax sources: Sales taxes, individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, and property taxes, (locally imposed). In the first three categories, CA is highest in the nation, or very close to it.
Only in property taxes are Californians about in the middle of states, measured in absolute dollars paid.
The politicians won’t be happy until they eliminate Proposition 13, and succeed in making our property taxes near or at the highest among states. They will likely succeed.[/quote]
You’re entirely missing the point about Prop 13 being the impetus behind all of the higher taxes and fees.
Let’s look at how Prop 13 affected revenues, surpluses, and spending:
The share of property taxes directly
levied on homeowners increased from 34
percent in 1970 to 44 percent in 1978. The
state had accumulated a surplus that
would have reached $10 billion had
Proposition 13 not passed. State and local
governments did not respond to rising
property values and tax revenue by cut-
ting tax rates, so voters took matters into
their own hands. In doing so, they did not
expect reductions in government services,
but believed that government could pro-
vide the same level of services with less
money. Just before the election, 38 percent
of the electorate believed that state and
local governments could absorb a 40 per-
cent cut in tax revenue without cutting
services.
Regarding the bolded parts, the surplus “problem” is EXACTLY why politicians have to spend every cent they get when they get it. God forbid you have a surplus, even during good times, if you are a politician. And so, we get the chronic deficits that the conservatives decry…because they don’t want surpluses, either. Go figure.
The second bolded sentence is mind-blowing, showing just how painfully naive and ignorant many people can be…and they’re allowed to vote! 🙁
Just to note that the BOE has a different surplus number, but at least they agree that there was a surplus — a growing surplus, no less.
“On June 6, 1978, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 13, a property tax limitation initiative. This
amendment to California’s Constitution was the taxpayers’ collective response to dramatic increases in property
taxes and a growing state revenue surplus of nearly $5 billion.”
“In a single generation, Californians have witnessed the universal deterioration of public services, from schools, universities and libraries to fire and police departments, roads and health care. The law is complex, but its details are relevant and important to understand. In a nutshell, the bill dramatically slashed one of California’s single largest sources of revenue – property taxes – by 60%. At the time, property taxes provided 28% of the state’s revenue, but the cuts dropped this value down to 13% within just a couple years.”
