4 ms·

In California prop 13 freezes property tax assessments at time of purchase, so many elderly people are paying less property tax on their house than they would o

by klipt 9y ago

In California prop 13 freezes property tax assessments at time of purchase, so many elderly people are paying less property tax on their house than they would on a newly bought condo.

jandrese 9y ago
Prop 13 will go down as one of the biggest blunders in legislative history IMHO. I get the complaint that people were being taxed out of their homes and that's not good, but in the end it just shifts the tax burden from the old to the young.
- pascalxus 9y ago
  And it's extremely Regressive. Out of 2 people who bought the same house, the guy who bought it 30 years ago, made 2 million dollars, but is taxed 10 times less!
  - lostapathy 9y ago
    I've always wondered why this can't be subject to a constitutional challenge under equal protection. If the main reason somebody pays less taxes is that they bought the house before you were born, that feels like age discrimination.
    - wbl 9y ago
      They tried. It didn't work.
- lostapathy 9y ago
  Total agreement here. Prop 13 is outright generational theft from younger people by older generations.
  - dragonwriter 9y ago
    > Prop 13 is outright generational theft from younger people by older generations. It's actually theft by corporate (or family chain) long-term property owners from everybody else; it doesn't favor individuals of particular ages (especially since the parent-child residence exception was adopted.)
    - lostapathy 9y ago
      I wasn't alive long enough ago to buy affordable housing in san francisco. How does that not favor older people than me?
      - dragonwriter 9y ago
        It disfavors people who choose to live somewhere other than a home they (or their parents before them) have lived for a long time, but it disfavors old people who choose to move just as much as young people who do so.
nradov 9y ago
No that's not the reason. Proposition 60 allows most homeowners older than 55 to transfer their property tax base to a new residence. http://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/faqs/propositions60_90.htm http://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/faqs/propositions60_90.htm

by klipt 9y ago

In California prop 13 freezes property tax assessments at time of purchase, so many elderly people are paying less property tax on their house than they would on a newly bought condo.

jandrese 9y ago

Prop 13 will go down as one of the biggest blunders in legislative history IMHO. I get the complaint that people were being taxed out of their homes and that's not good, but in the end it just shifts the tax burden from the old to the young.

pascalxus 9y ago
And it's extremely Regressive. Out of 2 people who bought the same house, the guy who bought it 30 years ago, made 2 million dollars, but is taxed 10 times less!
- lostapathy 9y ago
  I've always wondered why this can't be subject to a constitutional challenge under equal protection. If the main reason somebody pays less taxes is that they bought the house before you were born, that feels like age discrimination.
  - wbl 9y ago
    They tried. It didn't work.
lostapathy 9y ago
Total agreement here. Prop 13 is outright generational theft from younger people by older generations.
- dragonwriter 9y ago
  > Prop 13 is outright generational theft from younger people by older generations. It's actually theft by corporate (or family chain) long-term property owners from everybody else; it doesn't favor individuals of particular ages (especially since the parent-child residence exception was adopted.)
  - lostapathy 9y ago
    I wasn't alive long enough ago to buy affordable housing in san francisco. How does that not favor older people than me?
    - dragonwriter 9y ago
      It disfavors people who choose to live somewhere other than a home they (or their parents before them) have lived for a long time, but it disfavors old people who choose to move just as much as young people who do so.

nradov 9y ago

No that's not the reason. Proposition 60 allows most homeowners older than 55 to transfer their property tax base to a new residence. http://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/faqs/propositions60_90.htm http://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/faqs/propositions60_90.htm