Letters: L.A.’s tax giveaway to Westfield

Re “Mall developer can keep tax revenue,” June 29

Hard to believe that the Los Angeles City Council did not even pretend to be ethical in its giveaway to Australian mall developer Westfield. Letting it keep millions in tax revenue for the next 25 years to build a complex in the San Fernando Valley is absurd.

When I was involved in “influencing” the political process, I went overboard in hiding any attempt to obfuscate the truth. But apparently in Los Angeles, the politicians simply thumb their noses at us, with the City Council voting 10 to 0 in favor of this massive tax giveaway after allowing the public to weigh in for only a few minutes.

Warren Evan Larson

Sunland

If anyone needs further evidence that corporations run this country, here we have the L.A. City Council voting to allow Westfield to keep millions in mall-derived tax revenue over the next 25 years.

This is the same Westfield whose managing director, in order to avoid paying American corporate taxes, was investigated a few years ago for hiding billions in mall-derived income from the IRS by stashing the money in Swiss accounts.

What do you think would happen to us ordinary citizens if we were caught doing that? Do you think we would be rewarded by the L.A. City Council?

Joel Anderson

Studio City

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