Commentary
The Proposition 13 tax limitation from 1978 is the foundation of California’s private-sector economy. It’s always under attack by those who want to raise taxes even higher.
It makes owning property the only activity in the state that’s not taxed at a high rate. Specifically, its main part limits property taxes to 1 percent of assessed value, with maximum annual increases of 2 percent.
Now there’s a new attack based on the hope the U.S. Supreme Court will reverse its previous decision from 1992. In Nordlinger v. Hahn, it ruled 8-1 of Prop. 13: “Article XIIIA’s acquisition-value assessment scheme does not violate the Equal Protection Clause … [i]s not palpably arbitrary, and we must decline petitioner’s request to upset the will of the people of California.”…