Hacker News Reader

Comment by m463 | Hacker News Reader

I remember reading about california's Proposition 13, where both homeowners and commercial developers got a long-term lower property tax. The tax increases for continuous ownership would be modest, and only selling would reassess the tax value.

It was supposed to be for aging old people who were forced to move because they couldn't afford the taxes as their homes increased in valuation.

But commercial was also included, with the thought that lower taxes would let landlords pass the benefits onto the tenants.

But they never did, they just pocketed the savings.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_California_Proposition_13...

In addition, commercial properties would be owned by immortal corporations, which would change hands without reassessing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_California_Proposition_13...

View on HN

Prop 13 is one of the worst pieces of legislation ever passed. Want to prevent the elderly from being forced to sell their homes over increasing property tax burdens? How about... don't kick them out of their homes because of unpaid property taxes.

Just keep the tally, and then when the house changes hands, mandate that the back taxes get paid out of the sale.

But commercial was also included, with the thought that lower taxes would let landlords pass the benefits onto the tenants. But they never did, they just pocketed the savings.

The source for this claim in Wikipedia is an obscure 1999 opinion piece in a SF magazine.

And it doesn’t make any sense if the rental market is competitive. Obviously higher costs to landlords get passed along to tenants, so the reverse is also likely true in a competitive market, which CA is.

>But commercial was also included, with the thought that lower taxes would let landlords pass the benefits onto the tenants.

California, 1978. Trickle down economics. You don't even need to know state history to know who was governor at this time.

... Okay, it was Jerry Brown. But Reagan only stepped down in 1975 to run for president in '76.

It wasn't that at all. Californians were protesting the high taxes in CA. Prop 13 (which included commercial building tax relief) was voted in by 2/3s.

It had nothing to do with Reagan or Jerry Brown. They were just responding to what voters wanted.

>They were just responding to what voters wanted.

And who spread the narrative over the decades that the government wasn't worth the high taxes? This is a very well examoned initiative at this point.

Californians were seeing their property taxes increase by thousands of dollars each year.

No narrative spread needed. Voters could figure it out on their own

Reply on news.ycombinator.com