A proposal to exempt South Bay homeowners ages 60 and older from property taxes could cost local governments billions

"The proposed measure, which was cleared for signature-gathering earlier this month, would exempt homeowners 60 years of age and older from paying property taxes if they have occupied their home as their principal residence for at least five years or lived in California for10 years. Kumar will need 874,641 signatures by Aug. 4 to qualify the measure for the November ballot."

"Property taxes currently raise about $100 billion annually statewide and are split among schools and local governments that use the money for services like police, parks, libraries and roads. A new estimate from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office found that Kumar's exemption could trigger the loss of $12 billion to $20 billion annually in these key revenues across the state."

""Over time, these revenue losses would grow by 5 to 10% per year," the office's memo said. "About half of the revenue losses would go to cities, counties and special districts. The other half would go to schools. In some years, the state could face additional cost pressures to provide money to schools to offset their revenue losses.""

Rishi Kumar ran on a promise to exempt homeowners aged 60 and older from property taxes and converted the pledge into a statewide ballot initiative after losing the Santa Clara County Assessor runoff to Neysa Fligor. The measure would exempt homeowners 60+ who have occupied their principal residence at least five years or who have lived in California for 10 years; it was cleared for signature-gathering and requires 874,641 signatures by Aug. 4 to reach the November ballot. California property taxes raise about $100 billion annually. The Legislative Analyst's Office estimates the exemption could cause $12–$20 billion in annual revenue losses, growing 5–10% per year, with roughly half the losses affecting cities, counties and special districts and half affecting schools, and with potential state pressures to offset school funding shortfalls. Kumar acknowledged initial adjustments and belt-tightening to account for lost revenues.

Read at The Mercury News