Critics Respond to Proposed Property Sales Tax to Fund Homeless Housing in Los Angeles

A man sleeps outside the Homeless Help Desk kiosk in the Skid Row community of Los Angeles on April 26, 2021. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

LOS ANGELES—A group of labor unions and affordable housing advocates have proposed an initiative to appear on the November 2022 ballot that would tax property sales of more than $5 million in Los Angeles to fund permanent supportive housing units for the city’s homeless population.

The local initiative—United to House L.A.—would implement a 4 percent tax on property sales of more than $5 million and 5.5 percent on sales of more than $10 million. The Alliance for Community Transit-Los Angeles (ACT-LA) is leading the effort, alongside organizations such as IBEW Local 11, Venice Community Housing, Move LA, and Renters’ Right to Counsel.