Measure ER, a proposal to increase Los Angeles County’s sales tax by a half-cent, is currently leading by 13,000 votes. As of Monday, 946,757 voters, or 50.35%, supported the proposed sales tax, while 933,753 voters, or 49.65%, were opposed.

What’s at Stake

The proposed sales tax increase, which was introduced by Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Hilda Solis in January, aims to generate about $1 billion annually to offset reductions in state and federal funding for various healthcare programs. The county sales tax currently stands at 9.75%, and the proposed hike would increase it to 10.25%.

Supervisor Kathryn Barger was the only dissenting vote when the Board of Supervisors voted to place Measure ER on the June ballot. Barger argued that the proposed half-cent increase would make the county less affordable for families and less appealing for consumers to shop and businesses to operate.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has also opposed the measure, arguing that sales tax in LA County is already too high and that raising it again is unreasonable and unfairly harsh for those who can’t afford it.

If the ‘yes’ vote wins, LA County would add a temporary half cent per dollar, or about 5 cents for every $10 spent, to the sales tax for five years. The increase would not apply to groceries, prescription drugs, and medical equipment.

Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.