California Landmark Cases on Proposition 13 Property Tax

Article XIII A of the California Constitution (Proposition 13) provides that real property shall be reassessed for property tax purposes when a "change in ownership" occurs or the property is "newly constructed" or "purchased." (Cal. Const., art. XIII A, 2, subd. (a).) "California Constitution, article XIII A is commonly known as 'Proposition 13,' its ballot designation when passed as an initiative constitutional amendment in 1978." (Zapara v. County of Orange (1994) 26 Cal.App.4th 464, 467.) Because the meaning of "change of ownership" as used in Proposition 13 was not defined, the Legislature enacted various provisions defining that term. ( 60-66; Auerbach v. Assessment Appeals Bd. No. 1 (2006) 39 Cal.4th 153, 161 (Auerbach).) "Section 60 ... contains the basic change-in-ownership test; section 61 ... contains examples of what is a change in ownership; and section 62 ... contains examples of what is not a change in ownership." (Auerbach, at p. 161.) "The Legislature intended for section 60 to contain the overarching definition of a 'change in ownership' for reassessment purposes." (Pacific Southwest Realty Co. v. County of Los Angeles (1991) 1 Cal.4th 155 at p. 162.) Section 60 states: "A 'change in ownership' means a transfer of a present interest in real property, including the beneficial use thereof, the value of which is substantially equal to the value of the fee interest." Thus, as our Supreme Court has explained, the test set forth in section 60 ... 'contains three parts: "A 'change in ownership' means: [1] a transfer of a present interest in real property; [2] including the beneficial use thereof; [3] the value of which is substantially equal to the value of the fee interest."'" (Auerbach, supra, 39 Cal.4th at p. 161.) "Proposition 13, adopted in 1978, limits the amount that the assessed value of real property may be increased to reflect increases in the property's actual market value. When ownership of the property changes, however, the property may be reassessed at its current market value. . Changing the assessed value of real property to its current market value can result in a substantial increase in the tax on that property. Thus, determining whether and when a change of ownership has occurred can have significant tax consequences." (Auerbach v. Assessment Appeals Bd. No. 1 (2006) 39 Cal.4th 153, 157 45 Cal. Rptr. 3d 774, 137 P.3d 951.) "Because Proposition 13 did not explicate the meaning of 'change in ownership' citations, it fell to the Legislature to define the phrase, a task it has striven to perform during the many years since Proposition 13 was adopted by the electorate. The main effort to create consistent and uniform guidelines to implement Proposition 13's undefined 'change in ownership' provision was undertaken by a 35-member panel that included legislative and board staff, county assessors, ... trade associations, and lawyers in the public and private sectors. The panel's work culminated in the Report of the Task Force on Property Tax Administration (hereafter task force report), which was submitted to the Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation on January 22, 1979. ... The task force recommendations resulted in the enactment of the Revenue and Taxation Code provisions now before us. The Legislature adopted some of the recommendations verbatim or with nonsubstantive technical revisions, and others with rather minor changes. The report's key change-in-ownership test was adopted verbatim and is now codified as section 60, quoted hereafter. The task force report drafters stressed the need for uniformity and consistency in the application of section 60's general rule." (Pacific Southwest Realty Co. v. County of Los Angeles (1991) 1 Cal.4th 155, 160-161 2 Cal. Rptr. 2d 536, 820 P.2d 1046 (Pacific).) Section 60 defines " 'change in ownership' " as "a transfer of a present interest in real property, including the beneficial use thereof, the value of which is substantially equal to the value of the fee interest."