Third attempt to repeal Prop. 19's tax burden on inherited property aims for 2026 ballot

"When Sheri Duffy and her ailing mother, Jean, voted for Proposition 19 five years ago, an ad campaign running during episodes of Judge Judy convinced them the measure would provide what its title promised: Home Protection for Seniors, Severely Disabled, Families, and Victims of Wildfire or Natural Disasters. Campaign mailers praised the measure for allowing children to inherit their parents' family home without any tax increases."

"What the Duffys didn't realize, however, was that inherited primary residences would be reassessed to market value after the first $1 million. Just blocks from Apple's headquarters, the family's humble three-bedroom, two-bath house with popcorn ceilings that Sheri's father bought on a truck driver's salary in 1968 was worth more than $2 million. When her mother died in 2021, the property taxes soared from $1,300 to $18,000 a year."

"I thought I was going to die in that house, just like my mom, said Sheri, 54, who like Mike, had sidelined careers and jobs to live with and care for their aging parents. We didn't realize what we were voting for. We really felt duped, just taken advantage of, lied to. Although it's too late for the Duffys, Sheri is once again joining a grassroots campaign to repeal the inheritance portion of Prop. 19 that, contrary to those 2020 ads, raised property taxes on scores of Californians."

Proposition 19 changed rules for property-tax transfers and inheritance. The measure allows certain homeowners to transfer tax assessments but reassesses inherited primary residences to market value above $1 million, triggering large tax increases. Many heirs of long-held family homes faced sudden spikes in annual property taxes, in some cases rising from roughly $1,300 to $18,000, forcing families to sell in high-cost areas near major tech hubs. The proposition passed with 51% of the vote. Promised benefits to wildfire funds and extra county revenues have not been fully realized, and campaigns seek repeal of the inheritance provision.

Read at www.mercurynews.com