Sunday, December 05, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

PROPERTY TAX REFORM: Duplicate California's Proposition 13

Constitutional cap will eliminate outrageous increases

The largest tax increase in the history of Nevada, an arbitrary, flawed property tax system and the sticker shock of recent property tax assessments have caused the majority of Nevada citizens to say, "It is time for property tax protection."

California passed a constitutional initiative capping property taxes -- Proposition 13 -- back in 1978. Proposition 13 protects homeowners and renters from the escalating taxes that are either tacked to mortgage payments or passed on in monthly rent checks.

Nevada's present system is complicated and driven by inflation of sales prices in neighborhoods. County assessors admit it's confusing, and taxpayer appeals are challenging exorbitant increases of 30 percent to 50 percent or more, depending on the area.

Like Proposition 13, the Property Tax Restraint Constitutional Initiative I co-sponsored in the 2003 legislative session as AJR 19, then pursued unsuccessfully as a 2004 ballot initiative, has been resubmitted as 2005 Bill Draft C-212.

When passed, C-212 will protect senior citizens and families alike from the forced sale of their homes because they can no longer afford to pay the property taxes. It will amend the Nevada Constitution to set up a stable and predictable property tax system and limit increases in taxable value on real property until the transfer of ownership. No longer will property tax increases (such as Senate Bill 507 in 2003) be left to the whim of the Legislature.

This tax reform features a ceiling of 1 percent on the taxable value; a cap on increases of 2 percent or the percentage rate of the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less each year; no reappraisals until the sale of the property; no reappraisal if the property is inherited; when the owner reaches age 62, the property may be traded for an equal value property with the same tax rate transferred to the new property; real estate transfer taxes may not be increased; and lastly, any structural additions to the property are appraised and added to the taxable value.

This is not a new idea. A Nevada version of Proposition 13 passed one general election in the early 1980s. However, an attack from the teachers union and the diversionary alternative tax plan we have today derailed its passage in the second general election. My 2004 attempt at an initiative petition was hampered by the arrest of petition signature gatherers in June on the UNLV campus and the advent of an alternative property tax cap plan offered by Clark County Assessor M.W. Schofield.

Critics complain that property tax reform similar to Proposition 13 is unfair and cuts government services. But the horrors predicted for government services in California never materialized. Instead, California's chaos stemmed from out-of-control liberals in government spending like drunken sailors.

Challenges in the Supreme Court can be expected. However, the California Supreme Court in 1979 and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1992 decided Proposition 13 was fair to everyone.

The time is right for my Property Tax Restraint Initiative. It's not an anti-tax plan -- it is a fair property tax plan. It is a stable property tax plan. It is a predictable property tax plan with a constitutional guarantee that will allow seniors and families to remain in their homes.

There is bipartisan agreement among state legislators, county assessors and Gov. Kenny Guinn that property taxes must be capped. It's the right thing to do for Nevadans. I urge every Nevadan to ask their state legislative representative to support my Property Tax Restraint Initiative bill draft request as it works its way through the legislative session that opens in February.

Assemblywoman Sharron Angle represents Washoe County District 26 and can be reached at (775) 787-6017 or angle@iglide.net with questions.