The Taxman Cometh...for His 9.75%

I just learned from LA Observed (which reblogged a story from the Daily News) that, starting Wednesday LA county residents' sales taxes will increase to a "yikes-worthy" 9.75%. We, of course, voted on this under its ballot name Measure R--but the reality hits our retail outlets this week.

The tax hike was imposed to help generate $40 billion for local transportation projects over the next 30 years. These include building a $4.2 billion subway link from the Westside to Downtown, an $800 million rail line from Pasadena to Montclair and a $200 million extension of the Green Line to LAX, according to the Daily News.