Jon Coupal is President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
The late songwriter Jim Croce listed a number of imprudent actions in his “You Don’t Mess Around With Jim.” Along with staying out of Jim’s way, he included the admonition not to tug on Superman’s cape or spit into the wind. Croce might have added to his list the foolishness of taking on Proposition 13.
Promoters of an initiative to impose a $6 billion annual surcharge on both business and residential, property, for the stated purposed of fighting poverty, have abandoned the effort. A measure sponsored by former Board of Equalization member Conway Collis and funded largely by an order of the Catholic Church, the Daughters of Charity, will not appear on the November ballot, as was expected.
It is unclear to Prop 13 defenders why the effort was halted. Some suggested that the governor intervened, convincing backers that too many measures on the ballot would risk rejection of propositions he favored. Others suggest the all-powerful teachers union threatened to oppose the measure because Collis failed to include a payout to education. But it cannot be overlooked that initiative backers may have become discouraged because Proposition 13 remains extremely popular with the general public and voters are very wary of any effort – no matter how benevolent it may sound – to undermine Prop 13’s protections. Californians like the safeguards it provides by limiting annual property tax increases, allowing local voters to decide tax issues and requiring a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to increase state taxes, a threshold that has not proven to be insurmountable.
To read the entire column click here http://www.hjta.org/california-commentary/dont-tug-on-supermans-cape-attack-on-prop-13-abandoned-for-now/