Fiscal turmoil

As California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger mulls his options following yesterday's defeat of ballot initiatives aimed at stabilizing the state's fiscal crisis -- including borrowing against property tax receipts -- this week's National Tax Association symposium, Tax Policy and the Economic Recovery, seems especially timely. Joan Youngman, senior fellow and chair of the Department of Valuation and Taxation, and Daphne Kenyon, visiting fellow and co-author of Property Tax Circuit Breakers: Fair and Cost-Effective Relief for Taxpayers, will be there, at the Holiday Inn Capitol May 21-22. Copies of the report, which outlines ways to reduce the tax burden on families whose property tax bills are a large share of their income, without further stressing local governments struggling to provide services in the economic downturn, will be available.