Don’t believe the scare tactics used by opponents of reforming Prop. 13

By Joshua Perlman, Sierra Madre | 10/18/2019

To the editor: While it was satisfying to read columnist David Lazarus’ takedown of one deceptive mailer from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. (LA Times, October 11), it would require a whole separate article to debate the scare tactics used by opponents of a ballot measure that would roll back certain provisions of Proposition 13.

To be clear, the ballot measure would not raise taxes on any residential property. Yet all of the mailers I’ve seen from these groups imply that homeowners are the ones who should be most afraid. Ironically, homeowners are burdened with so many other taxes to make up for the yawning hole in our budget where steady revenue from large commercial properties should be.

Other versions claim that this measure will increase cost of living because big businesses will pass on the costs to consumers. Yet our cost of living is much higher than in other states with sensible tax codes. Has Chevron Corp. been passing its massive property tax savings on to Californians with unusually low gas prices? Of course not.