TE

Why Thrive LA supports TE

Measure TE would grant a one-time exemption from the Proposition ULA transfer tax for residential properties damaged or destroyed in the January 2025 Palisades Fire. The exemption applies to original owners as of January 7, 2025, covers one transaction per property, and expires five years after the fire. It also authorizes refunds for any ULA tax already paid on qualifying sales before the measure takes effect. The case for Measure TE is simple: fire victims should not be punished for selling what remains of their homes. Proposition ULA imposes a 4% to 5.5% surcharge on higher-value property transactions. In Pacific Palisades, where median home values far exceed ULA's threshold, that surcharge can add hundreds of thousands of dollars to the cost of selling. Families who lost everything in January 2025 should not face a six-figure tax bill for choosing to move on rather than rebuild. That is not a policy choice. It is cruelty by spreadsheet. Measure TE also serves as an inadvertent confession. The City Council is acknowledging what economists and housing providers have said since Measure ULA passed: the tax discourages property transactions. If it is harmful enough to waive for fire victims, it is harmful enough to question for every property owner in Los Angeles. The estimated $35 million to $66 million reduction in revenue to the House LA Fund is not a loss. It is money that stays in the hands of families who need it to restart their lives, rather than flowing into a special fund that has faced persistent questions about spending effectiveness. The exemption is narrowly scoped, time-limited, and fiscally disciplined. It creates no new spending, no new bureaucracy, and no new taxes. It simply removes a penalty from people who have already suffered enough. Vote Yes on Measure TE. Fire victims deserve relief, not a transfer tax bill.