Jeff Cohen

[Joe Pompliano @JoePompliano]

Los Angeles Country Club is one of the world's most exclusive golf clubs.

• $250,000 initiation fees
• No celebrities or social media posts

And they use a 45-year-old tax loophole to save $80 million annually.

Here's how it works:

LACC sits on 320 acres in the heart of LA.

It's one of the country's nicest (and strictest) country clubs.

They don't allow celebrities to join, and every new member is handed a 1,000+ page rulebook.

LACC Rules
• No shorts (tailored pants only)
• Sport coats in the clubhouse after 6 pm
• No changing shoes in the parking lot
• No headphones, earbuds, or athletic clothes
• No photos or videos of the club on social media

Members can also only make phone calls from their parked car or a phone booth in the locker room.

And the club is so exclusive that many of the world's best players are seeing it for the first time this week.

Rory McIlroy, for instance, hasn't paid for a round of golf in 20 years. But he had never played LACC before this week's US Open, so he says he prepared by watching videos of the course on YouTube.

Still, the craziest part about LACC isn't its $250,000 initiation fee or its 1,000+ page rulebook.

The craziest part about LACC is its real estate.

The 320-acre piece of land sits smack dab in the middle of Beverly Hills — between the famous roads of Sunset Blvd, Wilshire Blvd, and Santa Monica Blvd.

The land alone is reportedly worth $8 billion, making it the second most valuable piece of real estate (not developed for housing) behind Central Park in NYC.

But here's the craziest part...

An $8 billion assessed land value would typically mean hundreds of millions in property taxes alone.

But LACC only pays $220,000 in annual taxes.

This is because of two rules:

1. LACC is owned by its members and registered as a non-profit. So they benefited when California voters passed a ballot in 1960 that lowered the value at which officials were allowed to assess non-profit golf courses.

This non-profit rule also applies to other LA-based golf clubs, like Bel Air Country Club, Brentwood Country Club, and Wilshire Country Club.

2. Then, in 1978, voters passed Proposition 13. This new law rolled back the assessed land value to its 1975 level and more or less froze that value in time.

So even if the market value of the land tripled in value, the property's assessed value can only grow by 2% a year or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.

And Proposition 13 also capped property taxes at 1% of assessed value (vs. the previous average of 2.67%).

So, in simple terms, Los Angeles Country Club would be paying about $80 million (1%) in annual property taxes because its land is worth $8 billion-plus.

But because of these two laws enacted more than 45 years ago, LACC’s land is currently assessed at just $22 million, and they only pay $220,000 in property taxes.

LACC Tax Breakdown (estimates)
• True value of the land: $8 billion
• Assessed value of the land: $22 million
• Annual property tax savings: $80 million

Now, Proposition 13 wasn’t put in place specifically for golf courses — its true purpose was to protect homeowners who are older, retired, and living on fixed income from payment shock when their property values dramatically increase over a short period of time.

But given the financial savings it has provided exclusive golf clubs over the years, it’s no wonder why Los Angeles Country Club wants to keep things exactly as they are.

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[Jeff Cohen @JDCo]

Via NY Times morning newsletter …

[Arnold Ventures @Arnold_Ventures]

Kudos to grantees @CalMatters @publicintegrity @tradeoffspod and the team with the ProPublica and Texas Tribune partnership for their outstanding showing in @AHCJ’s annual awards. Nonprofit news is 💪

[Arnold Ventures @Arnold_Ventures]

Representatives from some of Houston's largest philanthropies speak up about why they decided to invest in the creation of a new nonprofit newsroom for Houston.

Read their op-ed: https://t.co/dNQUfa23hr

[Arnold Ventures @Arnold_Ventures]

As voters take to the polls this week to cast their ballots in a range of elections, Laura Arnold of @Arnold_Ventures chats with @AndrewYang & @LarryDiamond to discuss the structural drivers of polarization, and the real-world evidence from #RCV elections: https://t.co/SK2gmIFE0s

[Arnold Ventures @Arnold_Ventures]

The Biden administration’s decision to remove Rx reforms from the #BuildBackBetter framework demonstrates a disregard toward an overwhelming majority of Americans & breaks a central campaign promise from the president & members of Congress. Our statement: https://t.co/eQuyWAWEgB

[Arnold Ventures @Arnold_Ventures]

Arnold Ventures supports the peaceful transfer of power. The democratic process should be respected. We condemn insurrection at the Capitol and apparent attempts to violently overthrow American democracy. We send our fervent wishes for safety to everyone in D.C.

[Arnold Ventures @Arnold_Ventures]

"Vote fraud in the United States is exceedingly rare, with mailed ballots and otherwise."

Vote by mail myths, debunked:
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[Nina Totenberg @NinaTotenberg]

A Jewish teaching says those who die just before the Jewish new year are the ones God has held back until the last moment bc they were needed most & were the most righteous. And so it was that #RBG died as the sun was setting last night marking the beginning of RoshHashanah

[Jeff Cohen @JDCo]

RIP RBG https://t.co/m3Rr0eOLgv

[Arnold Ventures @Arnold_Ventures]

We join the world in mourning the passing of civil rights hero and American legend John Lewis, who stood as a towering figure within the civil rights movement and moral voice for the nation. Read our full statement: https://t.co/UUDaOXQADu

[John Arnold @johnarnold]

Newspapers have been in a decline since 2005 but this year marks another leg down. As newspapers close or get cut to the bone, public accountability of local institutions declines. The watchdog role that newspapers play will be lost without models subsidized by philanthropy. 1/

[Jeff Cohen @JDCo]

#JBWisdom

[John Arnold @johnarnold]

I highly recommend this new podcast, 'Deep Dive with Laura Arnold', that digs into the work we're doing at @Arnold_Ventures. The host is particularly sharp.

Note - The author of this tweet has no conflicts of interests to disclose.
https://t.co/ILzOF7je9N

[Arnold Ventures @Arnold_Ventures]

We are growing our team! Check out open positions here: https://t.co/kwnOi0sn3F

[Eric Berger @SpaceCityWX]

It's not official, but it looks to me like Bush IAH has hit 90 degrees for the first time in 2019.

It, umm, probably won't be the last.

[One Detroit @OneDetroit_PBS]

@evanasmith @JenniferPreston @thorntonaustin talk w/ @JDCo & a full room about replicating the success of TX tribune, the American Journalism Project, the importance of a public service mission and more. Catch the livestream at 2pm at https://t.co/xwQ7SZrBB7 #infoneeds

[Jeff Cohen @JDCo]

Delighted to see and share the new brand that is Arnold Ventures @LJA_Foundation picking up where the Laura and John Arnold Foundation left off.

[Arnold Ventures @Arnold_Ventures]

Meet the new Arnold Ventures. Our objective: To improve lives by investing in #evidencebased solutions that maximize opportunity and minimize injustice. https://t.co/H4ckcxUibm.

[John Arnold @johnarnold]

I'm proud @LJA_Foundation gets shout out as a foundation that's "admirably forthcoming about their strategy & giving, & post comprehensive grant databases for anyone to inspect." Our transparency gets used as ammo by our critics but it's right thing to do.
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