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View Winners → ACLU Wants to Close Prop 13 Commercial Property Tax Loopholes; Open Forum July 14
News Jul 08, 2015
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When Proposition 13 was first approved by California voters in 1978, it was sold as a protection for single-family homeowners. That was, and is, a very good thing.
But what voters did not fully grasp was that Prop 13 contained giant loopholes that let big corporations and wealthy commercial property owners avoid paying their fair share of local property taxes, over time shifting the property tax burden to those single-family homeowners Prop 13 was meant to protect.
These loopholes give tax avoiders an unfair advantage over smaller businesses that are paying their share, while depriving local communities of much-needed revenue.
As a result, California has made deep cuts to public safety, fallen behind in student funding, and closed parks and libraries—and income inequality has soared.
Panelists include Steve Rohde, ACLU of Southern California President Emeritus; Michael Rapkin, ACLU Economic Justice Committee Chair; and Moderator Michelle White, Executive Director, Affordable Housing Services, Pasadena.
The evening is presented by the the ACLU of Southern California Pasadena/Foothills Chapter and the Pasadena Area League of Women Voters.
Tuesday, July 14 @ 7 p.m., Neighborhood Church, 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd., Pasadena.
