Environment
Closing the Corporate Loophole will fund environmental agencies and projects, and address root causes of California’s climate crisis.
Californians are seeing the worst effects of climate change in our communities, with unprecedented wildfires, droughts, and rising sea levels. Our state has the worst air pollution in the country due to Increasing emissions from oil refineries and traffic. Communities of color and low-income communities often live closer to environmental hazards, such as refineries and freeways.
California’s commercial property tax loophole has worsened this crisis.
Closing this loophole will improve our environment and fight climate change
We need to address the root causes of these environmental issues. Closing the commercial property tax loophole will encourage smart growth, end tax breaks to big oil companies, and fund environmental protection and regulation.
“Not only will [closing the corporate loophole] bring tremendous benefits to public education and local services, it has significant environmental, health and climate benefits as well”
Promoting smart growth, improved health conditions, and lower carbon emissions
The commercial property tax loophole disincentivizes development by keeping property taxes low for commercial landowners. In addition, our local governments are forced to chase a sales tax in order to generate more revenue. This means they often green light the development of big box stores over affordable housing. Without enough housing in urban centers, workers face super-commutes, leading to increased emissions and air pollution.
Closing the loophole will promote smart land use and development. By raising commercial property taxes, it becomes costly to do little or nothing with underutilized commercial land. With reliable property tax revenue, our local governments can invest in smart land development, including affordable housing and mixed-use buildings.
Ending tax breaks for big oil companies
Big oil companies are receiving hidden subsidies in California due to our current property tax system. Oil companies, like Chevron and Shell, are among the oldest and the largest property owners in the state and pay drastically low property taxes.
By closing the loophole, we end tax breaks to big oil companies. It simply puts California on par with how every other oil-producing state in America taxes their commercial and industrial properties.
Funding environmental protection and regulation
Our commercial property tax system forces local governments to rely on a patchwork of ways to fund different public services. Without stable and reliable funding, environmental services and the development of green infrastructure aren’t prioritized.
With increased funding, local governments can pay for the infrastructure we need to improve our environment, such as parks and open space, public transit, and affordable housing. Increased funding for special districts, many of which are dedicated to the environment, will go towards parks, air quality control, mosquito abatement, flood control, and fire protection.