Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is an educational, lobbying, and policy organization representing the interests of California real property owners, especially homeowners. The organization is a California nonprofit public-benefit corporation formed in 1989. The association maintains offices in Los Angeles and Sacramento.

Following the passage of Proposition 13 in June 1978, Howard Jarvis founded an organization named the California Tax Reduction Movement. The purposes of this organization were to protect Proposition 13 and further the taxpayer revolt. The organization was later renamed the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association to honor Howard Jarvis who died in 1986.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is known for being a major advocate for and defender of Proposition 13, which was overwhelmingly approved by California voters in June 1978. Proposition 13 significantly limited real property tax increases for California homeowners and businesses.

The association opposes taxes on California persons and businesses. Its motto, "Dedicated to protecting Proposition 13 and promoting taxpayers' rights", expresses its primary mission of defending Proposition 13. It mobilizes its members to support or oppose legislation, including ballot initiatives. It also endorses candidates in California elections and, through its separate campaign committees, is a source of campaign funds for the elections of candidates and ballot measures in California.

Starting in 2003, the association began distributing a weekly opinion piece known as California Commentary, and there is ongoing research to further expand distribution of the publication.

Joel Fox, who had been a senior aide to Howard Jarvis, was the first president of the association, and served until the end of 1998. Joel Fox brought the association out of its infancy and transformed it into one of the most politically powerful organizations in California.

Notable events during Joel Fox's presidency include:

Fox guided the association against a successful legal challenge to Proposition 13 that landed before the United States Supreme Court. The case, known as Nordlinger v. Hahn, involved the issue of whether Proposition 13’s reassessment scheme violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. On June 18, 1992, the court held that Proposition 13’s acquisition-value assessment scheme does not violate the federal Equal Protection Clause.

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