Celebs dodged millions in L.A.’s ‘mansion tax.’ Meet the industry guarding their wealth
LA TimesBefore Measure ULA took effect in April, some wealthy residents scrambled to avoid paying the new “mansion tax” that would fund affordable housing and homelessness prevention. “The thing that makes rich people different from you and I is they have a whole industry focused on helping them minimize their taxes,” said Chuck Collins, senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies, a think tank based in Washington, D.C. Mark Wahlberg’s Beverly Park mega-mansion lists for $87.5 million. “They can say: ‘I saved my client this many millions in taxes,’ and they wear that banner around their neck.” One financial advisor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said people come to him because he’s developed a reputation among the wealthy for helping clients avoid real estate taxes. In December, Walsh Investment Real Estate Associates published a video titled “AVOID the LA City Mansion Tax.” In April, Ervin Cohen & Jessup LLP ran an article titled “Nine Ideas to Avoid the Effect of Measure ULA.” While it’s impossible to know why any particular individual decided to sell when they did, there was a deep irony that the great March sell-off saw plenty of Hollywood elites in the mix — many of whom have their own charities and dedicate millions of dollars toward other causes.
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