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It effectively targets the elderly because its benefits go disproportionately to people who bought homes many decades ago, in other words, the elderly.

Another way to determine who it targets is to suggest repealing it and watch who complains the loudest.

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Yes, the limit on increase of assessed value helps the elderly. All the other property investors (such as grandchildren and corporations) are just happy to reap the benefits. In other words, the design does not target the elderly.

This is the correct answer. The effect is as follows, currently:

1) Elderly who bought early pay low tax, elderly who bought recently pay high tax

2) Younger people who are also rich pay high tax, but can afford it, and it is proportional to the amount of services they are receiving

3) Younger people who cant afford these property taxes are priced out of the area.

It only round-about targets the elderly because most of them happened to buy their property many years ago - however without targeting the elderly with fixed incomes directly there is no phaseout either - thus the wealthy and inheritors of property can continue to pay those low property taxes while shifting the burden onto new buyers and pricing out many who are looking to buy.

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