Initiative Petition Filed to Reduce California Real Estate Taxes

The California Secretary of State announced that a new state ballot initiative intended to overturn certain real property-related taxes was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on August 29, 2025.

The initiative proposal would limit voters’ ability to pass voter-proposed local special taxes by raising the vote approval threshold requirement for such ballot measures from a simple majority (over 50%) to two-thirds. In charter cities, it would prohibit voters from approving real estate transfer taxes other than the existing 0.11% transfer tax authorized by Revenue and Taxation Code Section 11911. It  also overturns existing voter-approved property-related taxes, including real estate sales and transfer taxes, that do not comply with these requirements two years after the measure is enacted by a vote of Californians. The estimated loss to local governments could total up to several billion dollars, with the losses primarily affecting charter cities.

The proponent of the initiative has 180 days to circulate petitions in an attempt to obtain the required 874,641 signatures needed for the measure to qualify for the ballot, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than February 25, 2026.