Ted Gaines in South Lake Tahoe to discuss new taxes on commercial and industrial properties

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Former California State Senator Ted Gaines will be in South Lake Tahoe on Thursday, January 9 to discuss the proposed amendment to Proposition 13 that will remove commercial properties from their property tax protection and tax them on market value and not purchase price.

Gaines is a member of the California Board of Equalization for the 1st district. He will be speaking during the monthly meeting of the South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association and the public is invited.

The meeting will be held at the LTVA meeting space at 169 US-50 Stateline, Nev. 9:30 a.m.

The amendment may appear on the ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.

The ballot initiative would amend the state constitution to require commercial and industrial properties, except those zoned as commercial agriculture, to be taxed based on their market value. In California, the proposal to assess taxes on commercial and industrial properties at market value, while continuing to assess taxes on residential properties based on purchase price, is known as split roll.

As of 2019, 1978's Proposition 13 requires the taxable value of residential, commercial, and industrial properties to be based on one percent of the property's purchase price, with an annual adjustment equal to the rate of inflation or two percent, whichever is lower. According to the state Legislative Analyst's Office, market values in California tend to increase faster than two percent per year, meaning the taxable value of commercial and industrial properties is often lower than the market value.

If the initiative makes it to the ballot and is approved, the gain in funds (estimated $7.5 billion to $12 billion) for the state is slated to go to education after $.5 billion to $1 billion in administrative costs is removed:

- 11 percent for community colleges, divided according to state distribution formulas
- 89 percent to public schools, charter schools, and county education offices divided according to state distribution formulas
- An annual minimum of $100 (adjusted annually) per full-time student for all schools and community colleges

To make it to the November ballot 997,139 valid signatures are due by June 25, 2020. However, the process of verifying signatures can take multiple months. The recommended deadlines are March 3 for an initiative requiring a full check of signatures and April 21 for an initiative requiring a random sample of signatures.
On December 6, 2019, proponents announced that they have collected 25 percent of the needed signatures.

This plan could have a large impact on owner-operated businesses.