To protect locals' money, is it time to “truth-in-tax” Silicon Valley’s parcel levies?
Utah’s “Truth in Taxation” system forces property-tax hikes into the sunshine—something California school boards and special districts could do well to voluntarily adopt. With parcel-tax renewals looming, Silicon Valley voters deserve clear mailers and public hearings, not silent surcharge slips—right?
While Truth-in-Taxation does not technically limit property taxes, it makes local elected officials think twice about increasing property tax rates because they know all citizens will be notified of the increase and its potential impact on their property. They also know that they will have to hold a broadly advertised public hearing where citizens can sound off about the proposed tax hike. By forcing transparency upfront, Utah’s framework ensures that taxpayers are not blindsided by silent increases or buried line items.
The purpose of Truth in Taxation is to provide ‘notification, disclosure, and the elimination of automatic property tax increases.’ That means every dollar of additional property tax must be explained, noticed, and defended, not just quietly absorbed by homeowners and businesses. This level of transparency builds accountability between local boards and the people they serve.
Truth-in-Taxation is a revenue-driven system, not a rate-driven system. Generally, as valuations of existing property increase, property tax rates decrease. This automatic reduction prevents local governments from getting a windfall simply because valuations of existing properties have increased. Unlike in California, where reassessments and parcel levies often stack quietly, Utah law requires rates to reset downward unless a public hearing is held to justify more revenue.
[Editor's note: For Silicon Valley, where school boards and special districts lean heavily on parcel taxes, adopting a Truth-in-Taxation-style model could restore trust. Boards could voluntarily send clear mailers before parcel-tax renewals, post plain-language justifications online, and hold well-advertised hearings. Instead of voters stumbling across a surcharge buried in the fine print, residents would be invited into the process.]
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