☆ Cohen misses the point of taxpayer protections
CM David Cohen continued his tax ’n spend disinformation crusade last week at SJ CC, when he said that The Local Taxpayer Protection Act to Save Prop 13 would spell doom for cities like SJ. Fact is, says Susan Shelley of HJTA, Cohen's preferred scheme to raid taxpayer wallets is underhanded, unconstitutional, and simply inequitable policy. An Opp Now exclusive reaction.
{Editor's note: The below comprises comments from CM David Cohen and estimates delivered by Deputy Director in the City Manager’s Office Sarah Zarate, at the 9.16.25 SJ Council meeting, along with rebuttal arguments from Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Ass’n VP Susan Shelley. Timestamps align with this YouTube video of the Council meeting.}
Deputy Director for the City manager’s Office Sarah Zarate:
If {The Local Taxpayer Protection Act to Save Prop 13} were passed, it would eliminate two of the city's taxes, Measure E as well as the conveyance tax. So the annual revenue loss for Measure E would be approximately $45 to $70 million. And for the conveyance tax, it would be $40 to $60 million annually. (4:26:14)
San Jose City Councilmember David Cohen:
So the number I had heard was $90 million, but it sounds like $90 million is the floor. So it's just important for us to be aware that there's a potential ballot measure being circulated that could cost our city $90 million a year in revenue. We are one of the cities most affected by this…
These measures are not often what they seem, and we should be going in eyes wide open next year, there could be a significant battle on our hands that could cripple our city finances for a long time. (4:26:41)
Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association VP Susan Shelley responds:
Proposition 13 specifically prohibited new real estate transfer taxes, above the existing 0.11% documentary transfer tax that the law allowed.
The reason for the prohibition is that transfer taxes can be used to seize part of a property owner's equity when they sell, as if that's the government's sly way to collect the taxes that were not owed, thanks to Prop. 13, during the time of ownership.
But court decisions in the 1990s opened a loophole for charter cities to enact transfer taxes for general purposes. This has been deeply unfair to property owners. The courts should not be in the business of erasing taxpayer protections that voters have placed in the state constitution.
The Local Taxpayer Protection Act to Save Proposition 13 bans and "sunsets" all transfer taxes higher than the 0.11% documentary transfer tax. Existing transfer taxes above that level will end two years after voter approval of this initiative, giving cities time to adjust spending or replace the revenue from unconstitutional transfer taxes through the constitutional process.
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