Temple City : Cities File Property Tax Suit
A suit challenging the constitutionality of how property tax revenues are distributed among California cities was filed Friday in San Bernardino Superior Court.
Temple City, along with Rancho Cucamonga, Compton, Carson and El Segundo, are petitioners in the suit, which charges that the system unfairly penalizes cities that levied no or low property taxes before Proposition 13 was approved.
The proposition passed in 1978 limited property taxes to 1% of a parcel’s assessed value. State legislation passed to implement it calls for distribution of property taxes according to cities’ tax rates before the freeze.
As a result cities, such as Temple City, which did not have a property tax receive no revenues, although their residents pay the same flat tax.
According to John Sturgeon, attorney for the petitioners, the suit was filed in San Bernardino County because Rancho Cucamonga is the biggest loser in the current system among the five cities. No court date has been set. The suit was filed in San Bernardino because the state Supreme Court declined without comment to hear the case on March 31.
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