The California Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors voted last Friday to oppose The Tax Cut and Housing Affordability Act of 2022, which proposes a split roll property tax on all property valued at more than $4 million per parcel.
The measure must collect at least 997,139 valid signatures by mid-April 2022 to qualify for the November 2022 ballot.
The Legislative Analyst has determined that this tax increase will raise between $13 billion to $17 billion in new property taxes. This revenue would be redistributed to property taxpayers and renters, and used to reimburse counties for their administrative costs.
Ever since Proposition 13 appeared on the ballot, government employee unions and spending advocates have sought to split the property tax roll to classify and tax business property either at a higher rate or on a higher assessed valuation. Either way, the goal has been to increase taxes on businesses by billions to pay for school, local government or state programs that would benefit, among others, public employees. Spending advocates see the property tax as an untapped resource; it remains a pot of gold if they can only reach the end of the rainbow.
If the split roll initiative passes, the tax increases on residential, commercial and industrial properties would cost taxpayers billions. It would double property taxes immediately for most targeted properties, and would be the largest tax increase in California – ever.
