A California property is located in a Mello-Roos Community Facilities District. Which of the following best describes how a Mello-Roos special tax fundamentally differs from the Proposition 13 base property tax?
Correct Answer
A) The Proposition 13 base tax is calculated as a percentage of assessed value, while a Mello-Roos special tax is typically a fixed charge unrelated to the property's assessed value
The Proposition 13 base tax is ad valorem: 1% of the property's assessed value, which rises with that value. A special tax levied by a community facilities district under the Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 (Government Code 53311 et seq.) may not be apportioned on an ad valorem basis at all. It is spread by the formula in the district's own resolution, commonly a fixed amount per parcel or by lot size or building area, and it is charged on top of the 1% base tax. Duration is not the dividing line, because Government Code 53313 lets a district levy a special tax for ongoing services such as police, fire, parks, and maintenance as well as for bond debt, and a services levy has no payoff date.
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