(May 8, 2015) -- A union-lead coalition of groups, calling itself "Make It Fair," has launched an effort to change Proposition 13 to make it easier to raise taxes on what it calls commercial properties -- mainly industrial, retail and office properies -- while not affecting owner-occupied homes, residential rental properties and agricultural land.

The group's leadership includes the CA Teachers Ass'n and the Service Employees International Union. The group's website (www.makeitfairca.com) states in part:

"The need for commercial property tax reform has been building for decades. A law passed to protect homeowners, which we support, has been unfortunately manipulated by large corporations to keep them from paying their fair share. Smart reform done right will help restore fairness while protecting homeowners, renters and small businesses..."

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["Make It Fair" website text] Make It Fair is dedicated to closing the commercial property tax loopholes so we can continue to invest in strengthening our schools and important local priorities. We seek to make California’s tax code fair to all by phasing out loopholes in Prop. 13 that have allowed a handful of giant corporations and America’s wealthiest commercial property owners to dramatically lower their obligations to California families. Our goals are simple: make commercial property taxes fair by re-assessing commercial and industrial property at fair market value so that we raise the revenue we need to fully fund our schools and community colleges, strengthen public safety and affordable housing, fix our roads, build transit, keep parks and libraries open and maintain other vital services. Since the passage of Prop. 13 the tax burden has been shifting away from giant corporations and wealthy commercial property owners to middle class homeowners and renters. Our reform will reverse this trend and raise billions to help rebuild California.

To view "Make It Fair"'s Executive Committee, Steering Committee, organizational and individual endorsements as listed on its website (as of dawn May 8), click here.

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The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association had no immediate reaction but has long-opposed efforts to create "split roll" taxation (pitting commercial property owners vs. homeowners) and HJTA is listed among a coalition of mainly business groups opposed to the effort to change Prop 13. Calling itself "Californians to Stop Higher Taxes," the group's website says it is "a coalition of small businesses, taxpayers and business organizations, committed to increasing the education and awareness about the importance of protecting Proposition 13." Its listed co-chairs are Allan Zaremberg, President/CEO of the CA Chamber of Commerce and Teresa Casazza, President of the CA Taxpayers Association. From its website (www.stophigherpropertytaxes.org), the group says:

"Despite voters approving $6 billion in higher income and sales taxes in 2012, instead of cleaning up waste and abuse and prioritizing government spending on the programs most critical to California families, legislators and special interests are back for even higher taxes with a variety of proposals to increase property taxes..."

["Californians to Stop Higher Taxes" website text May 8] According to a recent study, increasing property taxes via a so-called "split roll" scheme would: Increase costs to California families and businesses by $6 billion dollars, Cost 396,345 jobs over the first five years, Disproportionately hurt small businesses, especially those owned by women and minorities...Voters approved Prop 13 by a 65% vote in 1978 to protect property owners from drastically increasing property taxes that had threatened the existence of small business and the ability of families to stay in their homes. Prop 13 has worked well over the years -- providing a stable, consistent, and growing revenue stream for local government and the state. We need jobs, not job killing tax increases, higher prices and higher property taxes. We must protect Prop 13 and stop efforts to increase property taxes!

To view groups listed on the "Californians to Stop Higher Taxes" website (as of dawn May 8), click here. :

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The "Make It Fair" website doesn't explicitly say how proponents of changing Prop 13 aim to bring their measure to the public (we presume by collecting initiative petition signatures and not the state legislature) but if the measure to change Prop 13 does make it onto a 2016 statewide ballot (June or November), it would create a very interesting 2016 election cycle. Among other things, the state ballot may include a measure to legalize recreational marijuana use...and locally, Long Beach Council races (districts 2, 4, 6 and 8) will be up for election in April and possibly June if runoffs. June and November voter turnout would be affected by the U.S. Presidential election.

Developing.

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