Property Taxes

What Congress giveth, Congress taketh away. And so it was that on Jan. 1 most wage earners found themselves a little light in the paycheck. The reason, of course, is that lawmakers late last year allowed the 2-percentage-point cut in the employee portion of the FICA tax to expire. That benefit was enacted in 2010 to put more cash in taxpayers' wallets during the tough economic downturn. But the greater tax burden doesn't mean would-be home buyers need to put off taking advantage of some of the lowest mortgage rates in eons.

Two prominent defenders of Proposition 13 spoke out on Tuesday against "gimmicks" used by some companies to avoid paying additional property taxes when buying real estate in California. Responding to a Los Angeles Times story that ran Sunday, the presidents of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. and the Small Business Action Committee said they would be open to narrow legislation to fix the law, which appears to allow such deals. The statements mark a shift for two organizations that have long led the fight against changes to Proposition 13, the 1978 ballot initiative that transformed property taxes in California and sparked a nationwide tax revolt.

California homes passed down from parents to their children carry potential property tax savings worth thousands of dollars a year. Thanks to a state proposition that took effect in 1986, known as the "parent-child reassessment exclusion," a child can inherit a parent's principal residence, whether modest or worth millions, without triggering a reassessment for property taxes.

In 2006, billionaire computer magnate Michael Dell, one of the world's richest men, agreed to pay $200 million for the Fairmont Miramar Hotel, a beachfront landmark in Santa Monica that long has been a retreat for Hollywood starlets and U.S. presidents. A few months later, Dell tore up the contract. He still wanted the hotel. But his attorneys had found a simple way to reshuffle the deal to avoid a legal change in ownership. The maneuver saved about $1 million a year in property taxes -- an option available only to businesses, not homeowners, under the arcane rules governing Proposition 13. The Miramar deal illustrates how businesses can easily -- and legally -- avoid property tax hikes under the California ballot initiative passed in 1978.

Homeowners confounded by property tax obligations and disclosure requirements can get information by visiting a new Web site devoted to such issues. National Tax Data Inc., at http://www.californiataxdata.com, offers information about Mello-Roos taxing districts and other levies above the usual 1%.

The half-cent sales tax increase proposal on the March 5 ballot known as Proposition A has been around for a long time in many guises, sometimes as a county tax, sometimes a city tax. Threats and reasons offered by Los Angeles city officials have included, in essence, pass it or risk another riot ; pass it or risk a terrorist attack ; pass it to fight a (nonexistent) surge in crime ; pass it to fund a new gang-prevention department . The only time it actually came before voters, they rejected it. In other instances, county and city officials refused to put it on the ballot in the first place.

Big sky -- and big taxes Re "Montana's big sky views become big tax horrors," Jan. 3 Reading this article, I thought I had been transported back to 1978: People potentially forced from longtime residences because they can't afford the escalating property taxes. Proposition 13 was enacted to prevent situations like these. The Times offers an excellent articulation of why we need Proposition 13 and why it should never be repealed. S. H. Whittle Los Angeles Do you really expect anyone to have sympathy for people who are worth millions and refuse to liquidate any portion of their wealth to pay their taxes?

North Dakota voters resoundingly defeated an attempt to abolish the state's property taxes Tuesday and were set to allow the University of North Dakota to rename its controversial mascot, which critics say denigrates Native Americans. More than 70% of voters rejected a grass-roots effort to eliminate state property taxes, according to unofficial returns, even though North Dakota has a budget surplus that exceeds $1 billion, in part due to an oil boom. More than 27,000 residents had signed a petition to get the measure on Tuesday's ballot.

There is one more consideration that Brian Roney (letter regarding Prop. 13, Nov. 17) left out. Those long-term neighbors have already paid for streets and sidewalks, parks, fire and police stations and other administrative buildings. Maybe Roney is just paying extra taxes to catch up. EDWIN CANE San Gabriel

Re "Woman, 78, could lose home," April 27 Your article about the Highland Park woman whose home will be auctioned off because the county claims she is delinquent on her property taxes should bring outrage to residents of Los Angeles County. Whether Marianne Blend's taxes were paid is immaterial. What is material is that some civil servants didn't do their job and, worse, they didn't do what was right: They pushed their papers, arranged for an auction, sent people to put up a sign but did nothing to look out for the welfare of the 78-year-old woman who has lived in the house for decades.

The half-cent sales tax increase proposal on the March 5 ballot known as Proposition A has been around for a long time in many guises, sometimes as a county tax, sometimes a city tax. Threats and reasons offered by Los Angeles city officials have included, in essence, pass it or risk another riot ; pass it or risk a terrorist attack ; pass it to fight a (nonexistent) surge in crime ; pass it to fund a new gang-prevention department . The only time it actually came before voters, they rejected it. In other instances, county and city officials refused to put it on the ballot in the first place.

When a young Jerry Brown was elected governor of California nearly 40 years ago, he ushered in an era of both optimism and limits. His message to Californians was that they could have more, do more, be more - but only if they proceeded with wisdom and made smart choices. It fell to Brown and his constituents to nurture and build upon the promised land that the postwar generation had built: unparalleled networks of roadways, water delivery, higher education, parklands; new opportunities for the previously marginalized and neglected.

Support for a $3-billion bond measure to fix deteriorating streets across Los Angeles is itself starting to crumble at City Hall, with City Council members backing away from efforts to get it onto the May 21 ballot. Four council members - Paul Krekorian, Bernard C. Parks, Jan Perry and Dennis Zine - said they were unprepared this election year to support the measure, which would boost property taxes over a 20-year period. All four said there had not been enough analysis or outreach to neighborhoods.

WASHINGTON — In the congressional and White House negotiations on tax reform — including the mortgage interest and property tax deductions — who has the crucial political advantage of counting documented public opinion on their side? Is it the real estate and building lobbies who argue that maintaining long-standing federal tax benefits are essential, given housing's key role in job creation, household wealth and the fact that real estate is still in a fragile state coming out of the recession and mortgage bust?

You knew this was coming. Now that Californians have approved Proposition 30 to temporarily raise sales and income taxes, and now that voters have elected a supermajority of Democrats in the Assembly and the state Senate, a lawmaker has introduced a bill to require only 55% voter approval rather than the current two-thirds margin to adopt parcel taxes to pay for local schools. Advocates of Los Angeles County's Measure J, a sales tax extension for transportation funding, are frustrated that they fell just short of the required two-thirds in November, and they also are discussing a change to 55%, perhaps just for transportation sales taxes, or perhaps more broadly.

WASHINGTON — What would happen to home values in the event that popular real estate deductions for mortgage interest and local property taxes were cut significantly? It's an issue you're likely to hear more about as Congress and the Obama administration wade deeper into "fiscal cliff" and comprehensive tax reform negotiations heading into 2013. Some of the forecasts are scary: Any significant reductions in these long-established tax benefits would inevitably trigger declines in home values.

New Jersey residents left homeless from Superstorm Sandy will be put into a lottery to receive housing that could be available as early as next week on a closed military base, Gov. Chris Christie said. Utilities need to be hooked up for 400 to 600 units at Ft. Monmouth, a former communications base in Oceanport, N.J., and then displaced residents could start moving in, the governor said at a Tuesday news conference. Thousands of residents across the Northeast have been displaced from the hurricane, with New Jersey and New York suffering the worst damage.