Dear Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer – Right up front, let me tell you that I write this to ask you to make a special HJTA donation today of $335, $500 or more if you can afford it. HJTA needs your support because both Jerry Brown’s bogus state budget and his $9 billion dollar tax increase initiative are laying the groundwork for the destruction of Proposition 13.
Brown’s budget depends on voters passing his $9.2 billion dollar tax increase initiative in November. I’m against this initiative, but homeowners have more to fear than higher sales and income taxes.
What happens if it does pass? Well, politicians will still demand more tax increases. This initiative’s tax hikes are temporary. So they’ll need $9.2 billion more before you know it. The increases are in sales and income taxes, which are unreliable, fluctuating with the economy. Plus, this budget depends on what some call Jerry Brown’s “pink unicorns that poop gold nuggets.” Funny? Well, the sad fact is that Jerry writes wholly fantastic revenue sources into his budget every year – one reason the “balanced” 2011-2012 budget ended with a $16 billion dollar deficit!
You, personally, could have as much as $57,000 at stake. Shocking, but that’s about what Prop 13 has saved each family on average.
An example: The 2012-2013 budget includes millions of tax revenue from the Facebook IPO flop. Too late; that money is no more real than the unicorns. So even if Californians pass $9.2 billion in tax increases, the anti-Prop 13 politicians and special-interest groups in Sacramento will need more tax revenue so powerful politicians and special-interest groups remain dedicated to tearing down Proposition 13.
If the tax initiative passes, your special donation will enable HJTA to protect homeowners and Proposition 13 in the coming weeks. Please send as much as you can with the Support Certificate which may be found at the end of this article. The tax-and-spenders know that sales and income tax hikes will be off the table if the initiative wins and if it loses. They also know that they can solve all of their budget problems by repealing Proposition 13! Pro-taxers think of pre-Proposition 13 California differently from you and other homeowners.
You remember thousands of people who owned their homes having to sell because they couldn’t keep up with skyrocketing property taxes. These politicians remember a Golden Age of tax-and-spend before Proposition 13, back when:
• Revenue from property taxes could increase dramatically every year … without limit!
• Property taxes were permanent, going up, sure, but never down.
• Homeowners had to come up with all the money the tax collectors asked for, no matter how bad the economy and regardless of their ability to pay.
These politicians want to roll back the clock to this Golden Age of homeowner taxing. Their number one goal, of course, is to get their hands back on the $528 billion that Proposition 13 has saved California taxpayers. Repealing Prop13 would give them enough revenue to satisfy every special-interest group and offset overspending for years.
More than half of the members of the State Senate and Assembly have consistently voted for legislation that would weaken Proposition 13. So the anti-Prop13 faction is already dangerously close to the supermajority that could write Proposition out of the California Constitution.
These politicians want to roll back the clock to this Golden Age of homeowner taxing.
Their number one goal, of course, is to get their hands back on the $528 billion that Proposition 13 has saved California taxpayers.
They are already advancing several Constitutional Amendments that would undermine Proposition 13’s two-thirds vote protection by hitting homeowners – only homeowners- with new and increased taxes that appear “below the line” on your property tax bill, so they don’t even count as taxes limited by Proposition 13’s 1% cap.
If we let the anti-Prop 13 faction actually amend the constitution, they’d soon raise homeowner taxes by the full $9.2 billion. If Brown’s tax increase initiative fails, the over-spenders could still get enough revenue. Only YOU pay it all – homeowners – not renters. Anything that opens the door to homeowner taxes could end up costing you much more, of course, and protecting Proposition 13 will be even more difficult in the future.
When the media are caught up with the elections, the heat’s turned down on Sacramento. The pro-taxers will try to take advantage of this by ramming through anti-Prop. 13 amendments. Your Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association’s power in Sacramento arises solely from you, fellow taxpayer and your fellow HJTA members. Politicians know that our special-interest group is pure and simple – California homeowners. You vote and our petition campaigns prove that we represent you.
Your HJTA also relies solely on our members to finance all of our efforts. Your annual dues plus your special HJTA donations, like the one I ask for right now. Amidst this unprecedented pressure to raise taxes, HJTA will win on your behalf only by rapidly and effectively opposing any legislation that might weaken or undermine Proposition 13. This pressure won’t give us time for petitions. I ask you today for a special HJTA donation that’s generous enough to sustain our own “surge” of efforts on your behalf in the future.
Please, right now, use the Support Certificate to send a special HJTA donation of $335, $500 or more if you can.
With urgent thanks, Jon Coupal, President of Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.
P.S. The $9.2 billion dollar tax hike initiative is NOTHING compared to what homeowners would pay if we lost Prop 13. You, personally, could have as much as $57,000 at stake. Shocking, but that’s about what Prop 13 has saved each family on average.
The election distraction makes it tough to overcome the anti-Prop 13 faction right now. We need a little help to protect you, homeowners and Proposition 13. Please use the Support Certificate to send an HJTA donation of $335 or more if you can. Thank you!
Jon Coupal is President of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association – California’s largest grass-roots taxpayer organization dedicated to the protection of Proposition 13 and the advancement of taxpayers’ rights.
HOWARD JARVIS TAXPAYERS ASSOCIATION SUPPORT CERTIFICATE
To: Jon Coupal, President
Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
P.O. Box 14230
Orange, CA 92863-1230
[ x ] Yes, John, I understand how the bogus state budget and pro-tax initiatives
could provide the cover pro-taxers need to repeal Proposition 13. I support a new
HJTA surge to protect homeowners and Proposition 13 by enclosing a special
donation in the amount of:
____ $500 ____ $335 ____ Other $_________
Signed: ____________________________________ Date: ______________
My check is enclosed payable to HJTA
Please charge $ ________ to my:
____ VISA ____ MasterCard
Card Number ____________________________________________
Exp. Date ______________________________________________
Name on Card ___________________________________________
Address ________________________________________________
City _____________________, State _______ Zip _____________
Phone __________________________________________________
Email __________________________________________________
Signature: ______________________________________________