Policy Update

The Los Angeles City Council voted to defer a vote on the Vacancy Parcel Tax to the November 2022 ballot instead of November 2020. 

 

This initiative, calling for a tax on vacant units from commercial properties, quickly gained significant opposition, as it had no clear enforcement mechanism and several unanswered questions. Funding from the vacancy tax was proposed to be used for affordable housing and homeless services. In the City’s Legislative Analyst report, they initially projected the vacancy tax to generate from $120 to $150 million in revenue per year. Given the numerous motions for exemptions, the Chief Legislative Analyst Office and Chief Administrative Office concluded that the revenue would be significantly less than originally projected.  

 

The Chamber advocated in opposition to this proposed initiative along with a coalition of business organizations.