Loren Kaye on Fox & Hounds

• For voters, affordability concerns doom tax increase promises October 25, 2019
  Voters are anxious about the cost of living in California. One of the not-so-surprising consequences of this anxiety: they are reluctant to embrace new taxes to pay for even popular ideas, according to a recently released CalChamber poll, The People’s Voice, 2019. Nine of ten voters agree that “earning enough to enjoy a middle class […]
• Voters anxious about public order and affordability October 22, 2019
  California voters are anxious.  Reports of steady growth and low unemployment cheer political leaders, but voters are disturbed by decaying public order and an unaffordable cost of living, according to a recently released CalChamber poll, The People’s Voice, 2019. Top of mind for voters is the erosion of public order.  Central to that perception is […]
• Split Roll Vig October 7, 2019
  Proponents of the split roll property tax increase surfaced a third version of their measure last month, tweaking it in hope of assuaging assessors and others responsible for making sense of the behemoth.  At the time I complained that the new version “would siphon off tens of millions of dollars to support the crushing implementation […]
• Three Time Loser September 23, 2019
  Oops, they did it again.  Proponents have submitted a third attempt at a ballot initiative to create a “split roll,” hiking property taxes by up to $11 billion. This latest version presumably won’t restart the clock, since it amends a month-old measure already being reviewed by the Attorney General and Legislative Analyst. But the changes […]
• Five Questions for Split Roll Proponents August 19, 2019
  Proponents of an $11 billion statewide property tax increase re-filed their ballot initiative this week, claiming “notable improvements to implementation dates, expansive new small business tax relief, clarified education financing and stronger zoning language to ensure large corporations cannot avoid reassessment.” Breaking down the changes, one can’t help but conclude that proponents would not have […]