Property taxes in CA punish the newcomers and reward old money. When I bought in Mill Valley in 2001, I was literally paying 13X more taxes than my neighbor, a masseuse who inherited the property and kept the same tax rate her parents paid in the 70s. And as a very liberal town, every new tax initiative always passed, which again hit us harder.

If at least Prop 13 benefits could not be passed as inheritance, that would go a long way to balance things.

I'm happy I moved to WA now where my property taxes do get reassessed every year, but it balances out with no state income taxes.

Only helps if you're a homeowner. If you rent California probably has one of the highest tax burdens.

> property taxes are some of the lowest in the nation

That's like citing the average rent in San Francisco. Great if you've been living in a rent controlled apartment for 30 years, but irrelevant if you've moved there recently.