Property taxes may drop statewide
• Recession turning into deflation
• Could be first statewide lowering of tax rates in 30 years
Property taxes statewide may drop for most homeowners if the inflation factor continues to be negative, says Bill Leonard, a member of the California Board of Equalization, the state’s tax collector.
This determination was decided in a Board of Equalization staff opinion released Wednesday.
The California Department of Industrial Relations calculates the California Consumer Price Index using price data published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. If negative inflation — also known as deflation — occurs over the 12-month period ending in October 2009, then all Proposition 13 base year values must be adjusted downward to reflect the deflation, according to the opinion.
