In 2013 voters passed our current flat-rate per-parcel school tax to replace the previous tax based on a five-tier parcel-size levy, a modestly progressive tax. Our school board expressed sincere regret at eliminating the progressive tax but believed it had no choice other than to tax all parcels regardless of size at the same rate because of the 2012 appellate court decision in the lawsuit Boricas v. the Alameda Unified School District.
Of the 3,921 school tax parcels in Piedmont, 76 percent of Piedmont homes are on parcels of less than 10,000 square feet. Their taxes of $1,989 and $2,260 were increased to $2,406 in 2013, a 6 to 21 percent increase. Taxes on owners of undeveloped parcels went from $1,009 to $2,406, a 238 percent increase.
However, a small percentage of taxpayers benefited. Owners of large parcels, commercial buildings and multiunit buildings saw reductions of 7 to 80 percent. Some large commercial buildings previously taxed at $5,052 went to $2,406, a 52 percent decrease. Lots of 20,000 square feet went from $3,378 to $2,406, a 29 percent decrease. A multiunit building went from $11,907 to $2,406, an 80 percent decrease.
A progressive tax based on square footage of building space is used in the city of Alameda and other districts. The tax passed by 74 percent in 2016 and was challenged in 2017 on the validity of levying a tax on a building’s square footage.
On March 4, 2018, the city of Alameda’s schools tax, based on square footage of buildings, was found legally valid by Alameda County Superior Court. On Jan. 31, the California Appellate Court validated a local agency’s special tax calculated on the basis of square footage of improved structures (Dondlinger v. Los Angeles County Regional).
Piedmont schools previously embraced a partially progressive tax and now have an excellent progressive tax option that is far more equitable by using buildings’ square footage. I propose the following progressive tax:
- The tax would be at $1 to $1.05 per square foot of building size. The Piedmont Unified School District would determine the exact rate needed to provide funding at slightly above the current level.
- $4,999 would be the maximum tax for any building.
- Currently some multiparcel estates are subject to multiple taxes and some are subject to one tax. So that all multiparcel estates are treated uniformly, a contiguous parcel exemption would be included. No property owner for a single home would pay more than $4,999.
- $1,099 would be the rate for unimproved lots.
- A 2 percent annual cost adjustment would be included.
- The tax may include an income-based senior exemption at a rate to be determined and would not cost the district more than 2 percent of what the total tax revenue would be without this exemption.
- Compassionate SSI and SSDI exemptions would be included and would not be age-based.
Rick Schiller is a longtime Piedmont resident.
