Readers React: California has a budget surplus, so why attack Proposition 13?
To the editor: Columnist George Skelton states that Proposition 13 “forever screwed up state and local government financing.”
Democratic and Republican governors and legislators have had ample opportunity to change revenue sources since 1978. Is there really much of a problem in light of the fact that the state presently has a budget surplus?
Skelton gave us several history lessons but failed to provide the real reason voters passed Proposition 13: Property values had greatly increased far beyond the purchase price, and seniors on a fixed income could not afford the increased taxes on the full assessed value of their homes.
Proposition 13 is very fair in the sense that it taxes property based on the purchase price plus no more than 2% each year.
Jim Rueff, Fountain Valley
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