HOUSING FOR
CALIFORNIA
Don’t Tax Families out of Homeownership
Unelected Boards Shouldn’t Be Able to Raise Taxes
C.A.R OPPOSES SB 1105 (Hueso) because it grants vast, unchecked tax and bonding authority to a new appointed board that could require homeowners to subsidize investor housing developments. While the purpose of this board is to encourage affordable housing, addressing this problem should not be done on the backs of often struggling homeowners.
SB 1105 grants its agency board the ability to tax property without a vote of the electorate. These taxes could include special taxes, parcel taxes, gross receipts taxes, business license taxes, transfer taxes, land value “windfall” taxes and/or a commercial linkage fee. There is NO CAP to the amount homeowners can be taxed and these taxes could be layered on top of each other. Finally, these agencies would be able to impose taxes on properties county-wide, including on those parcels located in cities within the county.
Why C.A.R. is OPPOSING SB 1105:
It allows an unelected board to impose taxes WITHOUT voter approval. Raising taxes needs to have the support of the community, and should be approved by the voters, not by those who won’t be held accountable for their decisions.
This will make homeownership less affordable. These costs will impact both those seeking to purchase a home and those who have already struggled and stretched to afford the home they have already purchased. Increasing their taxes will undermine working families’ ability to stay in their homes in an economically challenging time.
The cost of funding rental housing projects should be borne by ALL residents, not just those who own a home. It is agreed that creating more affordable housing is a public good. If that’s the case, the entire community should fund such programs, rather than taxing already economically stressed homeowners.
The agency will not be required to construct new housing. This agency will fund investor purchase offers, competing with our state’s working families seeking to achieve the dream of home ownership.