For months, California YIMBY has worked on a state-level solution to fix bad transfer taxes that are crushing new housing construction in many cities. In the process, we also hoped to prevent the passage of an anti-tax ballot measure that would harm the finances of virtually every jurisdiction in California.
Why California YIMBY Opposes Prop 40 — the Billionaire Wealth Tax
California YIMBY is taking a formal position against Proposition 40, the One-Time Wealth Tax (California Billionaire Tax Act or “CBTA”) on the November ballot. For an organization built around housing, that may look like a detour. It isn’t, and we…
Help Save Housing Production – No “New Prop 13”
Several jurisdictions in California have passed poorly-designed tax measures that are hindering housing production while threatening to severely harm the state’s ability to fund vital services like housing, schools, public safety, and fire protection. The California legislature and Governor’s office…
L.A.’s Mansion Tax Was Meant to Fund Housing. Research Says It May Be Backfiring.
New research suggests Los Angeles’s “Mansion Tax” cancels out a portion of the revenue it was meant to generate. Measure ULA, passed by voters in November 2022, adds a 4% to 5.5% levy on property sales above $5 million to…
If You Tax the Things You Want Less of …
Los Angeles voters passed Measure ULA in 2022 to tax real estate sales over $5 million in order to fund subsidized housing programs. But new research from UCLA and RAND finds that the policy may be slowing the growth of…
How LA’s Transfer Tax Cost Schools and Local Governments $25 Million in Lost Revenue
New research reveals that Los Angeles Measure ULA, which imposes a 4% tax on property sales over $5M (5.5% above $10M) and allocates the revenue to affordable housing, has significantly reduced property transactions needed for housing development, undermining its own…
Parcel Tax in California: Findings from New Data Sources
Published: 2020 | Soomi Lee | CityScape Abstract This article examines parcel taxes in California counties, cities, and special districts. Unique to California, the parcel tax is commonly known as a lump-sum tax applied to parcels of real property to…
The Rare Occurrence of Mortgages Over $500,000
Published: 2017 | NLIHC Abstract The report reveals that only 5% of the mortgages obtained between 2013 to 2015 in the U.S. were larger than $500,000 and that lowering the mortgage interest deduction (MID) cap to $500,000 would have no…
Cities as Labor Markets
Published: 2014 | Alain Bertaud | Marron Institute NYU Abstract A city’s welfare depends on its labor market. As long as a labor market does not fragment into adjacent, smaller ones as it grows, the larger the market, the more…
The Mortgage Interest Deduction and its Impact on Homeownership Decisions
Published: 2014 | Christian A. L. Hilber and Tracy M. Turner | Review of Economics and Statistics Abstract This paper examines the impact of the combined U.S. state and federal mortgage interest deduction (MID) on homeownership attainment, using data from…