A 'Mansion Tax' in Los Angeles Is Worsening the City's Housing Crisis
Steven Greenhut | 2.27.2026 7:30 AM I sometimes prattle about a proverbial $1 million tax on poodles as a way to illustrate the counterproductive nature of many tax proposals. This is an ideal analogy for Los Angeles' Measure ULA, the "mansion tax" that voters in 2022 approved by a wide margin. It has had the same negative effect as that punitive tax on pooches, based on recent research. The city of Los Angeles has a licensed dog population of around 100,000, with poodles of all types (standard, miniature, and toy) being among the most popular breeds at around 6 percent. The city last year faced an estimated $1 billion deficit and closed it with a variety of cost-cutting measures. But city officials were, quite obviously, barking up the wrong tree. If City Hall had simply imposed that $1-million levy on all 6,000 of those pups, it could have easily closed its budget gap—and had $5…
