In the State of California the Property Tax Law is contained within the Property Taxes Law Guide. The California State Board of Equalization oversees the Assessor who in turn sets values, both house values and commercial property values in the county of each Tax Assessor.
PROPOSITION 13
On June 6, 1978 Proposition 13 (Prop 13) was selected by the voters in the State of California to be the tool to lower and stabilize Assessment Values in every county. Under Prop 13 the base year value is established upon a change in ownership or completion of new construction. Thereafter assessed value increases are limited to 2% per year by the Assessor of each county . The County Assessor may however choose not to increase the value or even lower the assessment value in certain cases.
PROPOSITION 8
Proposition 8 provides that the County Assessor may, in any tax year where the fair market value of an assessed property is lower than the value on the assessment roll, reduce the value. The problem is that seldom does the County Assessor initiate the value reduction and when he does, it is generally not sufficient to reflect the actual fair market value. Because of this, the responsibility for a property tax reduction is on you, the property owner.