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Tom Steyer assails ‘Trump’s tax loophole’ — but it’s just Prop. 13

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“California’s ‘Trump Tax Loophole’ is a billionaire-friendly tax break that lets the wealthiest commercial property owners avoid paying taxes based on what their properties are actually worth,” proclaims Tom Steyer, candidate for governor of California, on his website.

Steyer has described this “loophole” in debates as if it is a special benefit for corporations, a “corporate real estate tax loophole.”

In the gubernatorial debate on CNN, for example, he declared: “I will on the first day [in office] call a special election to close a corporate real estate tax loophole that’s worth over $20 billion. … California government needs more money.”

But Steyer’s website admits: The “loophole” is actually Proposition 13, the popular constitutional amendment that protects ordinary homeowners across the Golden State.

“It traces back to Proposition 13,” Steyer’s site admits, “which was promoted as a way to protect homeowners from being taxed out of their homes when values rise.”

That description leaves out a lot of information.

Prop. 13 is the “People’s Initiative to Limit Property Taxation,” from 1978, a time of high inflation under the Carter administration, and people were indeed being taxed out of their homes. The measure froze property taxes at 1% of assessed value at the time, and limited increases from that base to 2% per........

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