Property owners outside the city of Los Angeles may not be that familiar with the Measure ULA tax, but they should be prepared to get up to speed. Bad ideas spread quickly in California and ULA’s punishing real estate transfer tax is no exception. Deceptively sold to voters as a “mansion tax,” proponents didn’t limit it to high value homes. The sale of virtually every income-producing property, including new affordable housing projects, is also subject to the tax. ULA imposes a 4% tax on sales and transfers of real property valued over $5 million, and a 5.5% tax on those...