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Opinion: Right-leaning outlets say Los Angeles "mansion tax" has backfired

Right-leaning opinion pieces argue that Los Angeles's Measure ULA "mansion tax" has cut home building, jobs and revenue, citing a new report. They tie it to mayoral candidate Nithya Raman.

2 outlets · 0L · 0C · 2R First reported Account updated
Image: Hot Air
Image: Washington Examiner

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The story, neutrally told

Right · 2Opinion writers at Hot Air and the Washington Examiner say Los Angeles's "mansion tax", officially United to House LA (ULA, Measure ULA), has backfired. Right · 1Hot Air's David Strom, quoting press coverage of a new report, says the tax has blocked 9,100 homes, wiped out 16,650 full-time construction jobs and cost $452 million in revenue. Right · 1The piece says about 1,000 of the lost homes would have been affordable units, citing the RAND Corporation, which it describes as a non-partisan, nonprofit research group.

Right · 1According to the same account, the tax took effect in April 2023. It charges sellers 4% on properties sold for more than $5.4 million and 5.5% above $10.9 million. Right · 1The tax applies beyond luxury homes, to apartment buildings, offices, warehouses and vacant land that sell above the thresholds. A Westside broker, Danny Brown, told The California Post it had hurt the residential and commercial real estate industry. Right · 1The piece says the tax was expected to raise about $900 million a year, or $2.7 billion over three years, but brought in about $1.2 billion. It also says the city had spent only $114 million as of May, and that the City Council voted 13-0 to put a record $466.6 million toward affordable housing, $324 million of it from ULA.

Right · 1Both Hot Air pieces link the tax to Councilwoman Nithya Raman, who is running for mayor against incumbent Karen Bass. They quote Raman's claim at passage that it was "the first housing initiative of its kind anywhere in the United States". Right · 1The second Hot Air piece recalls that opponents, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association and the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, sued to stop the tax. It also recalls that, per the Los Angeles Times editorial it quotes, nearly 58% of voters approved it in November 2022 and proponents estimated it could fund 26,000 units over a decade. Right · 1The Washington Examiner's Zachary Faria says California Democrats are shortsighted and that the consequences of their taxes and regulations always catch them by surprise. All three pieces are opinion, and the coverage includes no response from Raman, the city or ULA supporters.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre0 outlets

No centre outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Right2 outlets

Framing
Opinion columns present the tax as a predictable failure of Democratic and socialist policy, and use it to attack Raman and Bass in the mayoral race.
Emphasis
Lost homes and jobs, revenue short of projections, unspent funds, and the tax reaching commercial property and modest homes.
Leaves out or plays down
No view from ULA supporters, Raman's campaign or the city. Neither piece questions the report's figures. The revenue numbers as given ($1.2 billion against $2.7 billion expected) are not reconciled with the 'less than half' wording.
Charged language
“backfires spectacularly”“communists”“Pet Policy”“rape the rich”“unsurprisingly backfires”
For example
“Raman is running to her left. Go figure.” — Hot Air
“Socialist Gimme Gimme Gimme Grab 'Backfires Spectacularly' - LA Edition” — Hot Air
“Los Angeles ‘mansion’ tax unsurprisingly backfires” — Washington Examiner