About Claude's
Renters Tax
At a time when rent and housing costs are skyrocketing out of control in California, rogue tax assessors like Orange County’s Claude Parrish are leading the charge to impose a Renters Tax on workforce housing and tenants.
Local elected officials across California launched an initiative to increase workforce housing and lower the cost of rent for first responders, teachers, families, and others who can barely afford to live in the communities they serve. These programs result in millions of dollars of savings for tenants across California.
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Now, Orange County Tax Assessor Claude Parrish is threatening to undermine efforts to make housing more affordable by imposing a surprise Renters Tax on unsuspecting tenants based on an obscure legal theory known as a possessory interest. Claude’s attack on workforce housing must be stopped.
The Impact
If Orange County Tax Assessor Claude Parrish imposes a Renters Tax, impacted tenants could have their rent increase anywhere from $4,000 to $7,000 per year. Whether Claude taxes tenants directly, or landlords or developers, the burden will inevitably flow to the cost of rent and make housing less affordable than it already is for California families and workers.
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The timing could not be worse as California’s housing crisis continues to spiral. According to the 2022-2023 Orange County Community Indictors Report, the hourly wage needed to afford a one-bedroom apartment in Orange County increased from $36.63 per hour ($76,190 per year) in 2022 to $40.63 per hour ($84,510 per year), a significant increase of 10.9 percent.
Meet Claude
Out-of-touch Orange County Tax Assessor Claude Parrish does not understand the potential impact of a Renter’s Tax on the middle class because he’s living large on the taxpayer dime. Claude has a taxpayer funded car and enjoys a lavish lifestyle at his $1,676,900 home.
Here, Claude gets caught saying the quiet part out loud – he simply does not believe California’s middle class need a break right now. When Claude says workforce housing programs are “not helping anybody”, he is ignoring the tens of thousands of tenants who save thousands of dollars per year as a result.
There is just one problem…Claude claims he’s done “the analysis” to justify his assault on middle-income housing, but he is refusing to make it public despite numerous Public Records Act requests and a year of delay.
“Based on an analysis done by the Office of the Assessor, we believe that these transactions do not provide public benefit...”​ – Claude Parrish (OC Register, 10/21/24)
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For Orange County Tax Assessor Claude Parrish, it’s RULES FOR THEE AND NOT FOR ME. At the same time Claude is seeking to impose a Renter’s Tax on workforce housing, he is seemingly trying to use his position of power to lower his own property taxes. You can’t make this stuff up!
News
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