CA: Prop. 15 defeated

Proposition 15, which represented the largest property tax increase in California history – an estimated $11.5 billion annually – was defeated by a margin of more than 550,000 votes, ending a challenge by the Service Employees International Union, California Teachers Association, California State Parent Teacher Association and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s advocacy arm, Chan Zuckerberg Advocacy, to dismantle major portions of Proposition 13.

The commercial real estate community, including ICSC, BOMA, NAIOP, NAREIT, RILA and led by the California Business Properties Association (CBPA), joined with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, California Business Roundtable and the California Chamber of Commerce to work in opposition of the measure and educate voters on its negative consequences.

“ICSC members voted in droves to defeat Prop. 15 and it is gratifying to see their hard work pay off," said Betsy Laird, senior vice president for ICSC Global Public Policy. "The business climate is challenging enough and together with the economic impact of COVID-19 this was the wrong proposal at exactly the wrong time.”

“Prop. 15 was a direct assault on Prop. 13’s protections that have provided certainty and stability to property owners throughout California. Prop. 15’s proponents, many of the same special interest groups that opposed Prop. 13 in 1978, should think long and hard about targeting property owners in the future,” said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, which has spent decades promoting and protecting Prop 13.

CBPA President and CEO Rex Hime said, “Small businesses and property owners now have the opportunity to focus on making ends meet instead of formulating plans to close their doors. I am optimistic that Californians are getting wise to the game of being told that a tax does not impact them. Every tax gets passed along or increases the cost of everyday goods and services. And that was certainly the case with Prop. 15.”