It's not dissimilar in Texas. I guess I just don't see the inequity here. I suppose one important difference is that there are some municipalities (like mine)

It's not dissimilar in Texas. I guess I just don't see the inequity here. I suppose one important difference is that there are some municipalities (like mine) that recognize the lost revenue and are trying to get caught up (i.e., assessments change in the absence of a transaction), but even without that, I just don't see it as inequitable. encourages only large, expensive housing to be approved Huh? Haven't you heard of D. R. Horton? Maybe the CA real estate market is different because it's freaking insane. I'm sure a lot of people would be horrified to know how different the taxation on similar property is. Imagine if you had to pay 30% sales tax when you moved to a new town while old timers were paying 3%. I'm equally sure that a lot of those horrified people would be far less horrified if they understood why things are the way they are (maybe not Californicators, though. If you live in CA, you're probably just horrified all the time).