The Los Angeles Country Club (site of this year’s US Open for golf) sits on 300 acres in a neighborhood where building lots go for $20 million per acre. With the typical premium for a large piece of property in an urban area, it’s valued at $8 Billion or more.
But because of these two laws enacted more than 45 years ago, LACC’s land is currently assessed at just $22 million, and they pay only $220,000 in property taxes.
Los Angeles Country Club Tax Breakdown
True value of the land: $8 billion-plus
Assessed value of the land: $22 million
2023 Property Tax: $220,000
Annual property tax savings: ~$80 million
$220,000 on an $8 Billion value is a tax rate of $27.50 per million. In my neighborhood, a million dollar home pays about $11,000 in taxes.
What might be the (as you call it) ‘the true value of the land’ for Central Park in NYC? Shouldn’t we be selling it all to developers? Or Van Cortland Park in the Bronx?
Those are public parks with access for all. You have about the same chance of playing a round of golf at the ultra-private LACC as orbiting the Earth in a space ship.
If you’re taxing real estate at a discounted rate, you just have to raise taxes on something else (i.e, income, sales, use fees, etc.) to make up the difference.
I’m pretty sure that there was some kind of second local law that gave the LACC a discounted valuation. (Maybe they were getting credit for any shade that covered the sidewalk beyond the high metal fence as a public good? {LOL} ) I doubt the 1978 market value of a building lot in Beverly Hills was as low as $60,000/acre. Plus, there should be some kind of premium above that for an ultra-large parcel.
I remember the flap about Prop 13. Lots of talk about protecting old folks from being taxed out of their homes due to soaring property values.
Michigan has the same thing. Called “the Hedlee Amendment” here. The value of my condo was reduced substantially in 08-09. Due to the Hedlee Amendment’s cap on y/y increases, the taxable valuation of my condo is now about half of what the market value would be.
Actually, once retired, so I actually had time to go places and do things, I found there are a lot of interesting things to see and do around here. I was at an event yesterday, and heading to an event today. I had events planed for both days last weeend, but one was derailed by a traffic jam of epic proportions, and the other by rain.
That does not excuse the nonsense that has been foisted on the population by the (L&Ses) over their decades of control of the legislature.
Can’t speak for Steve, but I’m a Michigander, and really like living here. Like the 4 seasons, like the woods and water, luv all of the outdoor recreational opportunities, state forest land and lakes /rivers are all over the place around here.
The current D Governor is rolling back the tax hikes the previous R Governor foisted on retirement income, so it’ll be a nice little pay raise coming up. Nobody likes paying taxes, but I’m of the opinion that schools and roads and other infrastructure costs are the price of living in a civilized society, so I don’t complain too much about it.
Housing costs, at least in my area, are skyrocketing, so property taxes are going up every year, but it’s the same all over, or at least in desirable places to live. I have no idea how the young adults just starting out are going to be able to afford to live in the immediate area, even if they are not owners, rental costs are sky high, too.
You saw that the previous Gov is getting back into the fray. First order of business, given regime change in Lansing, he says, will be repeal of the current Gov’s repeal of the former Gov’s “right to work law”. Unspoken, but I expect to also be on his list is repeal of the current Gov’s repeal of his pension tax, and cutting the funding for road repairs. Then give the money thus freed up to the “JCs”, like he did twice before.
