Zuckerberg Funds California Proposition 15, to Support Local Schools By Closing Commercial Property Tax Loopholes - Michael Towner, Iconic Legacy

Proposition 15: Increases Funding for Public Schools, Community Colleges, and Local Government Services by Changing Tax Assessment of Commercial and Industrial Property. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.

Yes/No Statement
A YES vote on this measure means: Property taxes on most commercial properties worth more than $3 million would go up in order to provide new funding to local governments and schools.
A NO vote on this measure means: Property taxes on commercial properties would stay the same. Local governments and schools would not get new funding.

Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg

The Legislative analysis states that increased property taxes on commercial properties worth more than $3 million will provide $6.5 billion to $11.5 billion in new funding to local governments and schools. 60% would go to cities, counties, and special districts. Each city, county, or special district’s share of the money depends on several things including the amount of new taxes paid by commercial properties in that community. Not all governments would be guaranteed new money. Some in rural areas may end up losing money because of lower taxes on business equipment. The other 40% would increase funding for schools and community colleges. Each school or community college’s share of the money is mostly based on how many students they have.
‘Property’ Includes Land, Buildings, Machinery, and Equipment. The measure requires commercial and industrial (after this referred to simply as “commercial”) land and buildings to be taxed based on how much they could be sold for instead of their original purchase price. This change is put in place over time starting in 2022. The change does not start before 2025 for properties used by California businesses that meet certain rules and have 50 or fewer employees. Housing and agricultural land continues to be taxed based on its original purchase price. The measure reduces the taxable value of each business’s equipment by $500,000 starting in 2024. Businesses with less than $500,000 of equipment pay no taxes on those items. All property taxes on business equipment are eliminated for California businesses that meet certain rules and have 50 or fewer employees.

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The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) was founded by Dr. Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg in 2015, and according to the website, is a new kind of philanthropy that’s leveraging technology to help solve some of the world’s toughest challenges — from eradicating disease, to improving education, to reforming the criminal justice system. 

To date, CZI has granted $1.805 million to the campaign and is contributing an additional $4.5 million, bringing total support for the measure to just over $6.3 million.  CZI is also granting $1 million to the No on Proposition 20 campaign to oppose a measure that would incarcerate more people for low-level crimes and increase already bloated prison budgets. 

​“For generations, there has been profound inequity in the way we resource local services — with disinvestment over time and an increasingly limited ability for local communities to address their most pressing needs,” said Michael Troncoso, Head of Justice & Opportunity at CZI. “Even before COVID-19, Black and Brown communities have lacked the resources needed to sustain adequate local health care systems, protect essential workers, and support our schools. This systematic disinvestment was built into the law, and we now have the historic opportunity, through Proposition 15, to correct it and get our communities the support they need.”

Campaign Finance Reports from the Secretary of State show the payments made by CZI.