(Sacramento, CA - June 2, 2020)  
CAWA's leadership voted to oppose the California Schools and Local Community Funding Act - an initiative proposal for a split roll property tax - which is a constitutional amendment that has qualified for the November 2020 ballot. CAWA has strong concerns that discrimination against businesses through a split roll proposal will hurt CAWA member businesses as well as their employees and customers thereby having a negative impact on the entire economy in California.

"Opposition to a split roll property tax is a fundamental concern for small business owners, commercial property owners, and industrial and manufacturing facilities, all representative of CAWA members", stated Rodney Pierini, CAWA President & CEO.

According to the California Chamber of Commerce, "Split roll" means applying a different tax formula, either tax rate, reassessment frequency, or vote requirement, to commercial and industrial properties than are applied to residential properties. Proponents of a split roll would remove some of the protections of Proposition 13 from nonresidential properties in order to raise taxes.

The idea of a split roll has been rejected consistently since the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978. Prior to Proposition 13, there was no limit to how high an assessor could increase a property's value in any given year. Many taxpayers could not afford their ever-increasing property taxes and feared losing their homes.

Proposition 13 brought a halt to all that-limiting total taxes to 1% of the property's value, and any increases to a maximum of 2% per year. California voters passed the constitutional amendment by a nearly 2 to 1 margin, and solidified property tax reasonableness and predictability.

Over the last few decades there have been numerous legislative proposals to present a split roll to the voters, but none ever reached the ballot. A split roll ballot measure in 1992 was defeated soundly.

Some key provisions of the initiative include: 

•  Requires all business property to be reassessed to fair market value, beginning on the 2022-2023 lien date. The Legislature may phase in this requirement over three years. 
• Increases business property taxes by $7.5 billion to $12 billion a year, according to the Legislative Analyst. 
• Requires reassessment of business property to fair market value every three years. 
• Includes all business property, except for property used for residential (including rental) or agricultural production purposes. Mixed-use property is reassessed proportional to its commercial use. 
• Exempts from full reassessment business property with an on-site business, and which is under a single ownership with no more than $3 million worth of property statewide.

"Small businesses and their employees will be hardest hit by this initiative", continued Pierini. "This initiative will increase costs for automotive aftermarket consumers and will hurt California's already ailing economy. CAWA will work hard to defeat this initiative on behalf of our members and their employees and the consumers who rely on CAWA members for their automotive parts and service needs."

For more information about the Split Roll Initiative including background on Proposition 13 please visit the California Chamber of Commerce website HERE.

About CAWA

CAWA is a regional auto care industry trade association, which represents auto parts jobbers, warehouse distributors, retailers, manufacturers, manufacturer representatives and program groups. The Association provides education, legislative, regulatory and business support to the industry and its membership. It is one of the largest trade associations of its kind in the United States and recognized as a leader in the auto care industry. Visit www.cawa.org for further information about the Association.

Contact:
Jennifer Zins
Director of Government Affairs
CAWA - Representing the Automotive Parts Industry
916-871-0603