Our new report documents the county-by-county shift in the property-tax away from commercial property to residential property in part 1, and in part 2 shows how many major properties fail to pay their fair share of property tax. Read the full report (pdf) here. A summary of the examples of corporate mergers and buy-outs which avoided reassessment is available here as well as in the full report.



Executive Summary


As California faces a severe fiscal crisis at the state and local level, all aspects of our tax system, including the property tax, must be examined. This report provides an examination of the property tax system as it applies to commercial property, and provides significant new data which comes to two clear and related conclusions:


1. In virtually every county, commercial property is paying a far smaller share of the property tax since Proposition 13 passed in 1978.


2. Commercial property is able to exploit huge loopholes in the law to avoid reassessment upon change in ownership.

Filed under: Commercial Property Tax Reform on May 6th, 2010 at 10:41 am
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Open letter to Warren Buffett, written and researched by Jennifer Bestor of Menlo Park. This document is an excellent example of local research which exposes the irrationality of the commercial property tax system.

Filed under: Commercial Property Tax Reform on May 5th, 2010 at 10:47 am
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The Empire’s New Clothes: 
The Failure to Assess Commercial Property at Market Value: a Powerpoint presentation


Addressing Property Tax Issues: Rational Discussion in a Charged Environment in pdf

Filed under: Commercial Property Tax Reform on July 15th, 2009 at 9:09 am
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A Powerpoint presentation on commercial property for the Tax Policy Conference.
The reverse of good economics.ppt

Filed under: Commercial Property Tax Reform on March 6th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
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An in-depth study of Prop 13 from 1991
click here for more

Filed under: Commercial Property Tax Reform on February 12th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
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Statewide study finds huge disparities in property taxes paid for similar properties; Highlights need to refom system
Click here for PDF file Commercial property tax study1.pdf 

Filed under: Commercial Property Tax Reform on January 16th, 2007 at 11:52 am
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Case for Commercial Property Tax Reform: a powerpoint presentation, summarizing the economic, legal, and empirical case for property tax reform.

Filed under: Commercial Property Tax Reform on March 10th, 2006 at 2:54 pm
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On grim realities and escapism
Rethinking Proposition 13

The budget mess comes with an opportunity for California to address long-ignored inequities in its tax structure. It will force the state — voters and elected officials alike — to consider the unpopular and the untouchable as ways to drag ourselves out of the state’s fiscal bog.

For a [...]

Filed under: Commercial Property Tax Reform on January 12th, 2003 at 12:07 am
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