Mansion madness: Los Angeles realtors in sell-off frenzy as wealth tax looms

As the clock ticks down to the start of Los Angeles’ new “mansion tax”, the city’s real estate market is offering some deadline deals. Real estate interests are now fighting the new law in court, arguing that it violates California’s constitution. The Palazzo Beverly Hills, one of the many ostentatious mansions in Los Angeles. That’s still substantially more public revenue than Los Angeles’ current transfer tax on properties generates, which has brought in only about $200m annually in recent years, according to a report by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles. The rise of Los Angeles as a global financial center, not just a film and entertainment hub, has fundamentally transformed the city’s real estate market and its prices, Tamkin, the real estate agent, said.