https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/03/12/prop-13-offers-higher-tax-breaks-for-homeowners-in-white-neighborhoods/

Homeowners in White neighborhoods receive thousands of dollars more in property tax breaks than their counterparts in neighborhoods with largely Black, Asian and Hispanic populations, according to a new report based on a study by the Tax Fairness Project and the San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association.

The report, which focused on a comparison of neighborhoods in Oakland, takes aim at a 1978 California law, Proposition 13, which limited how much governments could tax property to 1% of its assessed value. The law also constrained property values for tax purposes, so properties were taxed at the value at which they originally sold – not a property’s up-to-date market price. In most cases, properties are only reassessed when they sell. The law has been criticized by policy experts for effectively offering long-time homeowners hefty tax discounts relative to new buyers.