The LA County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to put Measure ER on the June 2026 ballot — a half-cent sales tax that would push rates past 10.25% countywide, the highest sales tax burden in the nation. The county projects $1 billion per year in new revenue, all flowing into the general fund with no legally binding restrictions, no independent audits, and no enforceable accountability.
Sound familiar? The city tried this play in 2022 with Measure ULA, the so-called mansion tax. Supporters promised up to $1 billion annually for housing. It pulled in $280–$350 million — and a Harvard, UC San Diego, and UC Irvine study found that between 63 and 138 percent of that revenue was wiped out by lost future property tax receipts. The tax may have cost the city money.
Said Aidan Chao, Chairman of the LA County Taxpayers Association: "You cannot ask families already paying over ten cents on the dollar and facing a cost-of-living crisis to hand another billion dollars annually to a general fund with no strings attached." A March poll put opposition at 47%. The boardroom always wants more. Working folks are done writing blank checks.