One of the four tenets in the mission of the Orange County Taxpayers Association is that taxes should be fair. A fair tax distributes the burden evenly. There are no “high” payers and “low” payers.
Currently, under Government Code Section 50079, parcel taxes imposed by schools must “apply uniformly to all taxpayers or real property within the district.” Owners of smaller or residential properties can’t be charged more per square foot then owners of larger or commercial properties. School districts have tried to impose this de facto split-roll parcel tax in the past and have been stopped by the courts.
SB 1021 (Wolk) would put into place law that would allow school districts to impose nonuniform parcel taxes. It would allow a government entity to tax a select group of property owners at a higher rate then others. Discriminatory taxes are wrong and bad public policy.
OCTax will continue to oppose bills, like SB 1021, that unfairly impose taxes on Californians.
By Carolyn Cavecche, President & CEO of Orange County Taxpayers Association