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LA considers asking voters to raise a variety of taxes: Hotels, vacant properties, weed and more
L.A. City Council members could ask voters to raise hotel taxes, rideshare taxes, vacant property taxes and more.
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LA voters may be asked to approve taxes on hotel stays, weed, parking and more
The L.A. City Council is considering putting a variety of measures before voters to add to the city's general fund. Up first on the June primary ballot could be initiatives on boosting hotel taxes during the 2028 Olympics and on taxing unlicensed cannabis shops.
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L.A. voters could be asked this year — in elections in June and November — to raise taxes in a number of ways to help fund city services.
What measures are up for discussion? There are seven! On Tuesday, the L.A. City Council directed the city attorney to draft two options for a hotel tax. The first is a 4% increase that falls to 2% after the Olympics; the second is a 2% increase that drops to 1% after the Games. The council will choose one of those options to put before voters. Another ballot measure ordinance will be drafted to start taxing unlicensed cannabis shops.
Wait, aren’t unlicensed cannabis shops illegal? Yes, but they do exist across L.A. Licensed cannabis shops are responsible for a 9.75% sales tax, 10% business tax and 19% state cannabis excise tax. Councilmember Monica Rodriguez voted against taxing the illegal businesses. “You're setting up, unintentionally, a false expectation that you're going to be able to hold these guys accountable,” Rodriguez said, adding that the city attorney should instead be shutting those shops down.
What about the other measures? A 5% increase in the parking tax was sent back to the budget and finance committee for further discussion.
The council also directed the city attorney to look into additional tax measures for the November ballot.
- A 6% tax on tickets for events with more than 5,000 attendees.
- A tax on shared rides like Uber and Lyft.
- A vacant properties tax to encourage renting or selling.
- A retail deliveries tax: a $1 flat fee on delivered goods.
Is raising taxes the only solution for the city’s budget? Rodriguez — who voted against the tax ballot measures — said the city needs to think about tightening its belt. “If we're not having a full conversation around where we're going to cut back, but we're going to talk to taxpayers about increasing more, it's a really big problem,” Rodriguez said.
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What’s next? The city attorney’s office has until Feb. 11 to draft any measures that will appear on the June primary ballot.
Dig deeper … into L.A.’s budget woes.
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