That's exactly right. The property tax rate (the percentage of the value of your home that you must pay every year) cannot be reduced, because many property own

That's exactly right. The property tax rate (the percentage of the value of your home that you must pay every year) cannot be reduced, because many property owners are paying that percentage on the values of their homes twenty years ago or more. This makes the tax rate very unfavorable for new owners and very good for those who have owned since Prop 13 was passed in 1978. If everybody paid tax based on their current home price (an order of magnitude difference for some properties), the tax _rate_ could be reduced for everybody (though many would end up paying more tax). Edit: re-reading my original comment, I should have made clear that I was talking about the property tax rate, not the dollar amount assessed, which will of course be different for everybody.