Look for the Homeowner’s Property Tax Exemption and Renter’s Credit Initiative on the ballot in 2010

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IMPORTANT UPDATE

This initiative has been voluntarily withdrawn from the November 2008 ballot

due to concerns for California’s growing budget deficit. Many of the links on the web page below have been disabled, but look for them again as we approach the 2010 election. In the meantime, you can email lori@hometaxbreak.org for updates.

HomeTaxBreak.org is launching a statewide, grassroots campaign to get an initiative on the November 2008 ballot to lower taxes by up to $1,000/year for qualified Homeowners and Renters. We are proposing a long overdue increase to the Homeowner’s Exemption and Renter’s Credit. The initiative will increase the exemption to 25% of the home’s assessed value to a maximum of $100,000. It will also increase the renter’s credit threefold. Click on Read Initiative to see the entire text and findings for the initiative. The text is currently in the hands of the Attorney General. After his office finalizes the fiscal impact and creates the “title and summary,” we can print petitions and mail them to volunteers. How does the exemption reduce taxes? Homeowners must file a form with their local assessor to claim the exemption on their primary residence. Example form for San Francisco. If the home has an assessed value of $200,000, 25% is $50,000 so the homeowner will pay property tax on $150,000. A $500/year savings If the home has an assessed value of $500,000, 25% is $125,000. The maximum exemption is $100,000 so the homeowner will pay property tax on $400,000. A $1000/year savings. Why are we doing this? The Exemption has not been increased since 1972 when the median price in California was about $28,000. At that time, the exemption was about 25% of the median value. Property tax revenue for the state rose more than 10% in one year (approx. $3.5 billion). We are simply rolling the increased taxes back one year. Several members of our state legislature have attempted to increase the exemption and renter’s credit through various Assembly Bills. All have stalled. We are told the best way to get this tax reduction passed is to put it on the ballot. It is good for our state as it is intended to help individuals afford to stay in California and it will help businesses attract and retain employees. This is not a tax break for the wealthy! Proportionally, it gives greater relief to those with lower-valued homes. Will local governments suffer a loss? The California Constitution requires that local government budgets are reimbursed by the state. This means local services will not lose tax revenue. Property tax revenues to local governments have increased at a greater rate than the cost of living. We will circulate petitions between January and April 2008. During that time we will need all the volunteers we can get. We must have 1,000,000 signatures from registered voters to qualify for the ballot so we need your help. There are several ways to volunteer. Please click on Volunteer to see what YOU can do. If you have concerns about whether or not this is good for our state, consider this… putting an initiative on the ballot does not mean it will pass, but it will begin a meaningful debate. We are looking forward to that debate. Let’s get it on the ballot.

WE NEED YOUR HELP Please take this 2 min. survey to help us determine if Californians want this tax break. Take a Survey View Results Through 12/1/07 There are many ways to volunteer. We need help from 10,000 California Homeowners and Renters. Volunteer to Help Keep up with our latest progress. More blogs to come… Read Our Blog Download a flyer to hand out or email to your friends. Download a Flyer Get the answers to your questions Frequently Asked Questions Add the button below to your website and link to http://HomeTaxBreak.org WE NEED YOUR HELP TO GET THIS ON THE BALLOT! Fill out the survey and sign up to volunteer. If 10,000 people get 100 signatures each, we will have the 1,000,000 signatures needed to get on the ballot.

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