☆ What San Jose CM David Cohen gets wrong in his bid to keep squeezing taxes out of San Joseans
San Jose is Prop 13 Country, but the city council remains oblivious to this fact. CM Cohen leads the council in opposing the restoration of taxpayer protections contained in this November’s Save Prop 13 act – and tells some whoppers while he’s at it. Susan Shelley at HJTA corrects Cohen’s misrepresentation of the important initiative in this week's Tax-free Tuesday. An Opp Now Exclusive.
Taxpayer advocate Susan Shelley reminds us that state constitution has clear limits on how the government can take money from property owners:
“The constitution represents the consent of the governed, and in California, the state constitution bans ‘a transaction tax or sales tax on the sale of real property,’” she says.
Nonetheless, Cohen is hitting the fear-monger button:
“In addition to making it almost impossible for cities to raise local revenue, [Save Prop 13] would invalidate previously passed measures. And it would immediately, or within a year, invalidate our measure E, which would be a huge hit to our budget,” he says.
But no. Cohen’s not right. It’s not immediate. Nor is it within a year. In fact, San Jose would have two years to come up with a plan to replace the revenue.
Shelley says:
“The Local Taxpayer Protection Act to Save Proposition 13 repeals, in two years, all citizens’ initiative property-related special taxes, such as parcel taxes, that passed with less than a two-thirds vote. It repeals all real estate transfer taxes higher than 0.11%, also in two years, and bans them going forward.
“Cities that have been relying on these unconstitutional taxes will have two years after the passage of the Local Taxpayer Protection Act to Save Proposition 13to find a constitutional way to replace that revenue. For example, local governments can place general taxes on the ballot and a simple majority of voters would be enough to pass them,” says Shelley.
Nonetheless, Cohen still wants to resist the will of San Jose voters. Rather than work to generate revenue within the bounds of the constitution, he’ll continue to fight to make it easier to raise taxes. Tune in live at 1:30PM today to see the tax tsunami apologists in action.
Opportunity Now’s Will Sherman is the editor of Tax-Free Tuesday.
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