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Property Tax Limitations and Mobility: The Lock-in Effect of California's Proposition 13

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Author Info
Nada Wasi
Michelle J. White
Abstract

Proposition 13, adopted by California voters in 1978, mandates a property tax rate of one percent, requires that properties be assessed at market value at the time of sale, and allows assessments to rise by no more than 2% per year until the next sale. In this paper, we examine how Prop 13 has affected the average tenure length of owners and renters in California versus in other states. We find that from 1970 to 2000, the average tenure length of owners and renters in California increased by 1.04 years and .79 years, respectively, relative to the comparison states. We also find substantial variation in the response to Prop 13, with African-American households responding more than households of other races and migrants responding more than native-born households. Among owner-occupiers, the response to Prop 13 increases sharply as the size of the subsidy rises. Homeowners living in inland California cities such as Bakersfield receive Prop 13 subsidies averaging only $110/year and their average tenure length increased by only .11 years in 2000, but owners living in coastal California cities receive Prop 13 subsidies averaging in the thousands of dollars and their average tenure length increased by 2 to 3 years.

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Paper provided by National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc in its series NBER Working Papers with number 11108.

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Date of creation: Feb 2005
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Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11108

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
H2 - Public Economics - - Taxation, Subsidies, and Revenue
R2 - Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics - - Household Analysis
H7 - Public Economics - - State and Local Government; Intergovernmental Relations
K2 - Law and Economics - - Regulation and Business Law

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Caroline M. Hoxby & Ilyana Kuziemko, 2004. "Robin Hood and His Not-So-Merry Plan: Capitalization and the Self-Destruction of Texas' School Finance Equalization Plan," NBER Working Papers 10722, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Mark Hoven Stohs & Paul Childs & Simon Stevenson, 2001. "Tax Policies and Residential Mobility," International Real Estate Review, Asian Real Estate Society, vol. 4(1), pages 95-117. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Cutler, David M. & Elmendorf, Douglas W. & Zeckhauser, Richard, 1999. "Restraining the Leviathan: property tax limitation in Massachusetts," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(3), pages 313-334, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  4. Fernando Ferreira, 2008. "You Can Take it With You: Proposition 13 Tax Benefits, Residential Mobility, and Willingness to Pay for Housing Amenities," Working Papers 08-15, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau. [Downloadable!]
  5. Gruber, Jonathan, 1994. "The Incidence of Mandated Maternity Benefits," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(3), pages 622-41, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. O'Sullivan Arthur & Sexton Terri A. & Sheffrin Steven M., 1995. "Property Taxes, Mobility, and Home Ownership," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 107-129, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Lang, Kevin & Jian, Tianlun, 2004. "Property taxes and property values: evidence from Proposition," Journal of Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(3), pages 439-457, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  1. Springer, Job & Lusby, Aaron K. & Leatherman, John & Featherstone, Allen, 2007. "Property Tax Lids and the Effect on Kansas," 2007 Annual Meeting, February 4-7, 2007, Mobile, Alabama 34887, Southern Agricultural Economics Association. [Downloadable!]
  2. Hui Shan, 2008. "Property taxes and elderly mobility," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2008-50, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
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