Week 13- Blog #17 - TAXING & SPENDING Response- Chapter 12

Larry Feirman State & Local Government -Chap.12

April 18, 2021 Week 13 – Blog# 17 Assignment

REDWOOD CITY – REVISED BUDGET -2021

As noted above, there are a number of levied taxes for residents of Redwood City, CA. (Percentage of contribution to the city operating Budget)

• Property tax (40%)

• Franchise fees ( 3%)

• Utility users tax ( 6%)

• Sales Tax (21%)

• Transient occupancy tax ( 5%)

San Mateo County

San Mateo County has one of the higher property tax rates in the state, at around 1.112%. 39 out of 58 counties have lower property tax rates. 18 counties have higher tax rates. Note that 1.112% is an effective tax rate estimate.

Property Taxes – Redwood City, CA

Sales tax rate is 9.25%. Property tax rate is 1.12% (Note that 1.112% is an effective tax rate estimate). Actual property tax rates vary slightly from property to property within cities and counties due to special property tax boundaries. 18 counties have higher tax rates.

Property Taxes - Menlo Park, CA

The minimum combined 2021 sales tax rate for Menlo Park, California is 9.25%. This is the total of state, county and city sales tax rates. The California sales tax rate is currently 6%. The County sales tax rate is 0.25%.

Tax Assessments, payments, etc., are not assessed equally. There are many exceptions to the rule(s). Property owners vs. renters, commercial property owners, vs. commercial property renters, percentage of sales by businesses paid to landlords of said properties, who in turn pay taxes on those revenues.

Unlike real property, business personal property is reappraised annually. If a business owner has taxable personal property with an aggregate cost of $100,000 or more on January 1, or if the assessor has requested that a business property statement (Form 571-L) be filed, the business property owner is required by law to file the statement by April 1 of each year, detailing the costs of all supplies, equipment, fixtures, leasehold improvements, land improvements, and land, as well as other requested information for each business location. The completed property statement should be received by our office no later than 5:00 p.m. on May 7. This year, we mailed out over 700 property statements and 9,700 notices to file the statement electronically. Business owners have the option to file their statements electronically, thereby reducing our printing and postage costs. Last year, about 5,200 businesses filed electronically.

Exemptions and Exclusions California’s framework of property tax law (California Revenue and Taxation Code and rules from the State Board of Equalization) includes multiple provisions to ease the tax burden on eligible taxpayers. Generally, these consist of exclusions, which have the effect of making some changes in ownerships and specified types of property not taxable, and exemptions, which have the effect of reducing the taxable assessed value. Eligibility for these benefits depends on the characteristics of the owners (such as being disabled or elderly or a charitable organization), or the characteristics of the property (such having suffered a disaster loss or been taken by eminent domain). Accordingly, for example, for fiscal year 2017-2018, we granted exemptions totaling $6.6 billion, of which 87 percent went to institutions (non-profits, religious and church organizations, hospitals, and school). In addition, programs to assist or postpone payments are available. The details of exemptions and exclusions are explained more fully on our website, under the “Tax Saving Programs” menu. The following chart highlights their terms, and we will provide more information about the most common ones

Homeowners’ Exemption. If a home’s owner occupies it as the principal place of residence on January 1, the owner qualifies for an exemption of $7,000 from the home’s annually assessed value, which reduces the annual property tax bill. The exemption may also apply to a supplemental assessment if the home was not previously receiving the exemption on the annual assessment roll. California law allows only one homeowners’ exemption per owner, applicable to the principal place of residence; therefore, a second home does not qualify for the exemption. There is no filing fee. We automatically mail an application form to new property owners. Institutional Exemptions. Property used exclusively for a church, college, cemetery, museum, school, or library may qualify for this exemption that will reduce the owner’s property tax liability. Properties owned and used exclusively by a non-profit religious, charitable, scientific, or hospital corporation may also be eligible.

As stated in our textbook, California

is in alignment with many, if not all

the states in the U.S. with regards to

“Major State and Local Taxes. There are

Property taxes, sales taxes, Income taxes,

Miscellaneous taxes (user fees,

severance taxes, etc.) The charts above

Reflect taxes by cities within San Mateo

counties.