Since 1978 with the passage of Proposition 13, California voters have repeatedly tried to protect their homes and businesses from excessive taxation by imposing limits on property taxes and requiring two-thirds voter approval for other local taxes. Despite the clear intent of the voters, California courts have sided with the government and its special interest…
Californians have been having some version of this property tax fight for nearly half a century. In 1978, voters passed Proposition 13, which capped property taxes and put strict limits on local and state governments’ ability to raise revenue. Defending, rolling back, and revising those limits in court battles and subsequent state ballot measure campaigns…
When I started practicing law decades ago, the tax part of estate planning focused almost exclusively on minimizing estate, gift and generation-skipping taxes (collectively, “Transfer Taxes”). Back then, the highest Transfer Tax rate was 70%, and the exclusion was only about $120,000.