LA officials push tax hike that will raise price of groceries, restaurants, shopping

Two Los Angeles County supervisors are backing a new tax hike on residents that spike the cost of almost everything you buy — including shopping, dining out and other everyday purchases across the county.

Supervisors Hilda Solis and Holly Mitchell are pushing a half-cent sales tax they say would help counter looming federal health care funding cuts that threaten Medi-Cal services.

But because the tax would apply to retail sales and restaurant purchases, it was quickly trashed by opponents who say it raises prices for families regardless of whether they use affected health care services.

“Why should less affluent Los Angeles County residents be required to pay more for clothes, school supplies, and motor vehicles, especially when the sales tax burden is already so high?” Marc Joffe, a visiting fellow at California Policy Center, wrote in an opinion piece for the Daily Bulletin.

Joffe further points out that voters approved a sales-tax hike just two years ago.

If the the bill is approved it would further burden residents already struggling with high living costs, pushing Los Angeles County’s combined sales-tax rate above 10% in many cities.

Solis and Mitchell are bringing the proposal before the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday to decide whether it will be placed on the June 2, 2026 primary election ballot.

“I do not take lightly asking fellow residents to consider imposing a ½ percent retail tax,” Mitchell told CalMatters. “This option is on the table because what’s at stake are safety net services unraveling for millions of residents — which would come at an even greater cost for the largest county in the nation.”

The new measure would also keep taxes raised for five years, which supporters, including unions and health care advocates, say would raise roughly $1 billion annually to fund county hospitals and clinics, specifically targeting residents losing Medi-Cal coverage.

Mitchell said the proposed tax would remain in place until Oct. 1, 2031, and would be subject to public oversight and audits.

“This is a last-resort option for the times we’re facing and for voters to make the final call on,” Mitchell said.

Health care officials backing the measure argue the tax is necessary to prevent cuts to critical services.

“The ballot measure that we are proposing is an urgent and necessary step to stop the damage and protect access to life-saving care,” Louise McCarthy, president and CEO of the Community Clinic Association of Los Angeles County, told CalMatters. “The stakes right now could not be higher.”

Coalition leaders say they are determined to put the measure before voters.

If county supervisors do not approve it for the June ballot, the group plans to gather signatures to qualify the initiative for the November election.

The proposal comes at a time when a separate statewide effort, backed by the Service Employees International Union, seeks to impose a one-time 5% tax on California billionaires to fund health care.

A similar local measure passed in Santa Clara County last November, raising the sales tax by five-eighths of a cent and generating an estimated $330 million annually for hospitals and clinics, CalMatters reported.

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