Two Los Angeles County supervisors are backing a new tax hike on residents that would spike the cost of almost everything — 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 cutsthat 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.
(L–R) The five Los Angeles County Supervisors Janice Hahn, Lindsey Horvath, Kathryn Barger, Holly Mitchell and Hilda Solis. Solis and Mitchell are pushing a half-cent sales tax on retail sales and restaurant purchases. David Franco/Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors“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.
The proposed tax hike on Los Angeles residents would spike the cost of almost everything you buy — including purchases made on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, one of the world’s most exclusive retail corridors. Bloomberg via Getty Images
Joffe further points out that voters approved a sales-tax hike just two years ago.
If 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 primary election ballot.
“I do not take lightly asking fellow residents to consider imposing a one-half 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.”
If the the bill is approved it would further burden residents already struggling with the creeping cost of groceries. Getty ImagesSusan Shelley, vice president of communications for the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, called the proposal “unreasonable,” saying sales taxes are regressive and hit those least able to afford them.
“They just immediately reach for tax increases,” she told The California Post, adding that the county isn’t addressing root causes like fraud and overspending.
“Taxes are already very high, and people are very burdened by it.”
Shelley accused the county of trying to tax their way out of their problems.
The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association is a nonpartisan watchdog dedicated to protecting Proposition 13 and opposing tax hikes in California.
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.
LA supervisors pushing a half-cent sales tax they say would help counter looming federal health care funding cutsthat threaten Medi-Cal services like those provided by Sinai Medical Center, pictured. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images“This is a last-resort option for the times we’re facing and for voters to make the final call on,” Mitchell said.
However, taxpayers aren’t buying into that.
“This is a broad-based tax that will never be repealed and has no specifics as to how it will be spent,” LA county taxpayer and real estate broker Bruce Bialosky told The Post.
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.”
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Sheely said restaurant and business owners would be hit hardest, especially if the tax drives consumers out of the county.
“Restaurants are already struggling with higher labor and food costs,” she told The Post. “The final bill at the table or drive-through has a big sales-tax charge, which will hurt revenue because fewer people can afford to eat out.”
She warned the tax could backfire, pushing both businesses and shoppers away.
“This is a competitive situation. Businesses can leave LA County and go to another county where they’re not so heavily taxed. It doesn’t help LA County’s overall revenue to push businesses and shoppers away. People can shop in other counties and avoid LA County’s high taxes.”
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.
Under the California Constitution, any local tax increase requires a ballot measure, but there are two ways to get one before voters — each with a different threshold for passage.
If the Board of Supervisors places it on the ballot, it’s a “government-proposed” special tax requiring a two-thirds supermajority (66.7%) to pass. A citizen-led initiative, however, can take advantage of the “Upland loophole,” allowing the tax to pass with a simple majority (50% plus one).
“This is a terrible loophole that lets special interest groups write their own tax increases, direct the money to their own interests, and evade the rules,” Shelley said.
The push for a new health care tax comes less than a year after LA County’s recent tax hike, Measure A, which went into effect on April 1, 2025. The measure doubled the previous homelessness sales tax to a permanent half-cent.
But despite the new funds, the county has faced criticism for mismanaging taxpayer dollars. Judge David O. Carter called it “a slow train wreck,” saying there is “no transparency and no accountability,” and he “declines to take the city at its word” on how money is being spent.
The half-cent hike sales tax push 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.
