Ep. 110: The Measure ULA Episode with Jason Ward and Mott Smith (Incentives Series pt. 10)

We're joined by our co-authors to discuss a few Lewis Center studies on Measure ULA, a transfer tax in the city of Los Angeles, that made a big splash. This is part 10 of our series on misaligned incentives in housing policy.

Show notes:

• Manville, M., & Smith, M. (2025). The Unintended Consequences of Measure ULA. UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies.
• Ward, J., & Phillips, S. (2025). Taxing Tomorrow: Measure ULA's Impact on Multifamily Housing Production and Potential Reforms. RAND Corporation and UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies.
• Green, D., Jambulapati, V., Liebersohn, J., & Velayudhan, T. (2025). Fiscal Externalities of Transaction Taxes: Evidence from the Los Angeles Mansion Tax. Available at SSRN 5273034.
• Manville, M., Smith, M., & Phillips, S. (2025). The Consequences of Measure ULA: Some Clarifications. UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies.
• Shane’s blog post about the BAE report on the impact of a 15-year waiver on the ULA tax for new multifamily and commercial development.