Second home tax proposal won’t be moving forward

SACRAMENTO — A proposal to end tax breaks for owners of second homes in order to fund California’s affordable housing programs appears to have fizzled in the state legislature. Assembly Bill 71 (AB 71), which proposed to assess a levy on any form of non-primary residence owned by state taxpayers, has essentially been inactive since May 30, a few days after Appropriations Committee members narrowly approved the bill. The definition of “second home” is broad enough to include boats with living quarters and not occupied by full-time liveaboards. Several boating and outdoor advocacy groups express opposition to AB 71 almost immediately after it was proposed, claiming it would impose an extra tax on boaters who already pay fees and levies through other channels – and possibly discourage Californians from buying or maintaining boats. AB 71 – introduced in December 2016 by Assembly member David Chiu, D-San Francisco – specifically proposed the elimination of tax deductions for second homes. Collecting taxes on properties treated as second homes (such as boats) would go a long way to fund California’s affordable housing programs, Chiu reasoned with his proposal. The bill was voted on in three Assembly committees during the legislative process, but AB 71 never made it...