My big problem is not merely keeping their own land under-developed, but that there is a huge overlap between these squatters and NIMBYism to prevent me from using the land to its potential, even if I manage to buy property from one of their neighbors.

Ok, so it is about using taxes to push people you don’t like out?

What makes a particular property owner into a ‘squatter’?

It is not about using taxes to push people out. The feudal nature of Prop 13 is a problem, but people eventually leave anyway. Once the owner leaves, the new owner should be able to bring it to its full potential by building apartments and condos. In most of the country, including the vast majority of the land in every city in California, this is illegal. The only way to maximize the value of the land is to turn it into luxury housing.

Prop 13 is a blunt instrument that rewards speculators more than it protects homeowners. What would be a much better system is some sort of forbearance, that the owner does not have to pay the full property tax until the property is sold, and then the back taxes are paid from the profits.

Immortal entities like corporations should not have Prop 13 protection.

They pretty clearly said that it’s about being prevented from using their own property the way they want.

Sure - but this is just indication that there is a small group of people that the poster has a beef with vs the huge group who would be adversely affected I.e. all homeowners.

Unless you take seriously the idea that most homeowners in California are squatters and NIMBYs.

How do you justify anyone owning anything and not using it to it’s ‘potential’?

More importantly who do you think should decide what the ‘potential’ is for what you own?

The market value is a pretty reasonable way to determine the potential.

That seems like a great argument for abolishing property taxes.