Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association -

Independent Legal Analysis of Prop. 99 Exposes Fatal Flaws

Fri, 09 May 2008 06:05:42 -0700

By Jon Coupal

Week of May 5, 2008

Claimed Homeowner Protections Easily Circumvented

But the list of property rights experts who reject this claim is growing. This is because Prop. 99 includes significant loopholes that will allow public agencies to continue to forcibly seize owner occupied homes and give them to wealthy and politically connected developers, even if the measure wins voter approval.

Claimed Homeowner Protections Easily Circumvented

For the past several months, local government interests, including the League of California Cities and the California State Association of Counties, have spent millions of dollars touting Prop. 99 as ironclad protection for Californians who fear having their homes seized by local governments to be turned over to private developers for strip-malls and other for-profit projects. But the list of property rights experts who reject this claim is growing. This is because Prop. 99 includes significant loopholes that will allow public agencies to continue to forcibly seize owner occupied homes and give them to wealthy and politically connected developers, even if the measure wins voter approval.

Help save the home mortgage interest deduction!

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 12:50:36 -0800

Taxpayer Alert

January 28, 2008

California faces a $14.5 billion budget deficit because the free-spending politicians in Sacramento have spent too much for too long.

Instead of cutting wasteful spending in state government to pay down the deficit and balance the budget once and for all, the tax-and-spend majority in the Legislature wants to punish you and every California homeowner by repealing the state home mortgage interest deduction.

They think that this important tax savings, relied upon by millions of Californians, is a "tax loophole" that must be closed.

California faces a $14.5 billion budget deficit because the free-spending politicians in Sacramento have spent too much for too long. But instead of cutting wasteful spending in state government to pay down the deficit and balance the budget once and for all, the tax-and-spend majority in the Legislature wants to punish you and every California homeowner by repealing the state home mortgage interest deduction.

Kill Prop. 13 at your own risk

Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:28:49 -0800

A column in The Orange County Register by Steven Greenhut

January 13, 2008

Imagine a (scary) world where Prop. 13 doesn't exist.

This will be hard to do, but let's pretend I'm wrong.

The government isn't too big. Public-sector unions aren't too greedy. Every last penny in California's $100 billion budget is necessary. We certainly can't fix the state's $14 billion budget deficit by cutting any government programs, jobs, services or agencies. And the only reason public schools, which consume more than 40 percent of the state's general-fund budget, are so malfunctioning is because taxpayers are stingy. As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday in his State of the State speech, "Government can work. It can be efficient. It can lead." As many politicians seem to believe, it is government, not the private sector that is the prime generator of the state's high quality of life.

Eliminate Prop. 13, and your tax bill will soar, so that government (whose workers are paid more than most of us and who enjoy pensions far in excess of what most of us receive) won't have to live within its means. Many people would soon be taxed out of their homes.

Proposed Ballot Measure Would Prohibit Use of Taxpayer Dollars for Political Activity

Thu, 15 Nov 2007 22:19:36 -0800

November 15, 2007

Opposition to Eminent Domain Reform Funded by Anonymous Campaign Fund

SACRAMENTO -- Today, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the National Taxpayer Limitation Committee and the California Alliance to Protect Private Property Rights announced that they have introduced the "Taxpayer Protection Act of 2008," a ballot measure that strengthens existing laws that prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars for political activity by making it illegal for taxpayer financed organizations, such as the League of California Cities, the California State Association of Counties and the California Redevelopment Association to finance their political activities through anonymous campaign accounts.

Today, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, the National Taxpayer Limitation Committee and the California Alliance to Protect Private Property Rights announced that they have introduced the "Taxpayer Protection Act of 2008," a ballot measure that strengthens existing laws that prohibit the use of taxpayer dollars for political activity by making it illegal for taxpayer financed organizations, such as the League of California Cities, the California State Association of Counties and the California Redevelopment Association to finance their political activities through anonymous campaign accounts.

Is Utah next for a cap on property taxes fashioned after Proposition 13?

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:38:44 -0700

By Joseph M. Dougherty, Deseret Morning News

August 28, 2007

Many Utah residents argue that a solution to escalating property taxes would be for the Legislature to enact a Proposition 13-type law that would cap the rate at which local governments can tax properties.

Prop. 13, as it's commonly known, was passed by 65 percent of California voters in 1978 following a wave of rising values and windfall revenues for local governments. One of its proponents was a Utah native named Howard Jarvis.

To read the complete article, click here.

Prop. 13 Not Unfair to New Buyers

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 16:57:58 -0700

A column in The Orange County Register by Gary M. Galles

June 5, 2007

Proposition 13 tomorrow marks its 29th anniversary. Each year, the anniversary of the landmark 1978 voter rebellion against rising property taxes inspires commentary, including some analysis that attempts to blame Prop. 13 for virtually every state and local government problem that has arisen in California since it passed. Such efforts almost always end with a call to raise taxes.

That argument keeps getting harder to make, however, since California's pre-Prop. 13 peaks in real per capita revenue and expenditures were exceeded long ago, and there has hardly been a miserly trend in recent years in the size of California's government. One typical complaint seems to be a perennial: that Prop. 13 it is inherently unfair to more-recent homebuyers. That criticism, however, is based on an economic misconception.

Homeowners Rebellion

Fri, 18 May 2007 04:49:35 -0700

An editorial from The Wall Street Journal

May 1, 2007

The great American tax revolt is brewing again, not inside the Washington Beltway but in cities across the country. Minnesota, Michigan, New Jersey, Connecticut, Arizona, Virginia, Florida -- all have voters trembling with agitation against high and rising levels of taxation.

Last month antitax activists in Minnesota staged a tax protest that drew some 6,000 taxpayers to the steps of the Capitol Dome in what is considered to be the highest turnout for a political rally in years. The crowd was three times larger than the turnout for the hyped MoveOn.org global warming march in Minneapolis. Three days later, hundreds of taxpayers in Lansing, Michigan, swarmed the capital steps to protest Governor Jennifer Granholm's call for higher taxes on business, gas, cigarettes and alcohol. "Not Another Penny, Jenny," one sign read.

Statewide Survey Shows Support for Eminent Domain Reform

Sun, 11 Feb 2007 17:25:36 -0800

February 9, 2007

SACRAMENTO -- A recent survey, commissioned by the California Alliance to Protect Private Property Rights, shows voters overwhelmingly support a ballot measure to protect property rights from eminent domain abuse.

The survey, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies, asked 1,000 likely voters if they would support a proposition that would "add a new law in California designed to protect homeowners and other property owners from having local government take their property, under what is called 'Eminent Domain', in order to use the property for developers to build shopping centers and industrial parks." 67% responded that they would vote for such a measure. Results indicated broad support across party affiliation, region and ethnicity.

2006 Issue of California Piglet Book Available Online

Thu, 01 Feb 2007 19:52:54 -0800

For the fourth year in a row, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Foundation (HJTF) and Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) have released the California Piglet Book, the definitive guide for reducing waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in the California state government.

Californians are threatened with immense tax increases while the waste and fraud of tax dollars runs rampant. The California Piglet Book gives enough examples to make any California taxpayer cringe, including:

* City and Local Government Abuses -- San Francisco has spent more than $2.3 million of taxpayers’ money in the past four and a half years on bottled water despite owning a pristine reservoir in the Sierra Nevada which touts some of the nation’s best-tasting tap water.

Mrs. Howard Jarvis, R.I.P.

Wed, 31 May 2006 13:08:02 -0700

It is with deep regret that we announce the passing of Mrs. Howard Jarvis who left us on April 27th. Estelle was far more than the spouse of one of America's greatest heroes. She had a deep well of strength in her own right and, as Howard traveled throughout the State of California in his successful efforts to save homeowners, Estelle was always at his side. They were a true team, dedicated to a cause in which they both believed with extraordinary conviction and passion.

After Howard died in 1986, Mrs. Jarvis remained an active member of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association Board of Directors. She proudly carried the banner of our organization and continued to meet with elected officials, including Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, at events where taxpayers gathered to advance the cause of freedom.

Taxpayer Advocates Meet with Gov. Schwarzenegger

Wed, 31 May 2006 13:08:25 -0700

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger met on April 17 with representatives of California's taxpayer advocate organizations to reiterate his commitment to holding the line on taxes and keeping California's economy growing. Participants from left to right: Joel Fox, president, Small Business Action Committee; Lani Lutar, president and CEO, San Diego County Taxpayers Association; Governor Schwarzenegger; Jonathan Coupal, president, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association; Kris Hunt, executive director, Contra Costa Taxpayers Association; Larry McCarthy, president, California Taxpayers Association; Lew Uhler, president, National Tax Limitation Committee; Fred Aguiar, cabinet secretary, Office of the Governor; Rex Hime, president and CEO, California Business Properties Association; Jack Stewart, president, California Manufacturers and Technology Association; Allan Zaremberg, president and CEO, California Chamber of Commerce; Ted Costa, CEO, People's Advocate; Lawrence McQuillan, director, Pacific Research Institute; and Bill Hauck, president, California Business Roundtable. Also attending but not pictured were, Martyn Hopper, California state director, National Federation of Independent Business; Reed Royalty, president, Orange County Taxpayers Association; Joe Sullivan, executive director, Sacramento County Taxpayers League; and Betty Jo Toccoli, president, California Small Business Association.