California's Low-Income Renters Could Get Tax Rebate With Newly-Introduced Legislation
SACRAMENTO (KCBS)— Two members of California's State Assembly have introduced legislation that would provide tax rebates for low-income renters in California.
The bill, proposed by Assembly members Tom Daly of Anaheim and Phil Ting of San Francisco, is beginning to make its way through Sacramento amidst the housing crisis— striking not only the Bay Area, but the entire state.
"This legislation would help tenants with a once a year check to help folks afford the rising cost of living," said Dean Preston, executive director of Tenants Together, a San Francisco-based renters rights organization that is co-sponsoring the bill. The other sponsor is the California Apartment Association, which represents property owners.
The assembly members have said the amount of the tax rebates would vary.
"We're providing low-income folks on a sliding scale between $250 and $348 depending on their household income," Ting said.
California's Low-Income Renters Could Get Tax Rebate With Newly Introduced Legislation
Mira Ingram, a San Francisco resident, is disabled and lives on a fixed income. She said she supports the rebates.
"It's essential for people who are low-income and disabled to take care of a lot of their basic needs at a time when costs are raising and rents are raising," she said.
Ting said the median rent in California rose by 20 percent between 2000 and 2012, while median income dropped eight percent during the same period.
