Yes on 60: Home Taxes

Proposition 60 would extend the property tax benefits of Proposition 13, the constitutional amendment adopted in 1976, to older citizens moving to another dwelling of equal or less value in the same county. It is a fair proposal with the added advantage of easing the supply of larger homes for growing families.

Under this constitutional amendment, a homeowner 55 or older could take to a new residence the lower assessed valuation that applied under terms of Proposition 13 to the original house. There are limitations. The new home must be bought or built within two years of the sale of the original house, be located in the same county, and not have a greater value.

The benefit to senior citizens, no longer in need of larger homes, is obvious. The incentives of Proposition 13 now serve the counter-productive purpose of encouraging people to remain in over-sized “empty nests” after their children are grown. This, in turn, reduces the supply of larger homes for younger growing families. Supporters of the proposition estimate that it would encourage the sale of at least 250,000 homes of three bedrooms or more acquired before 1980.

As in the case of Proposition 58, which also liberalizes the benefits of Proposition 13, this is no cure for all of the inequities in the initiative. But it would at least ease one unforeseen negative consequence.