(The Center Square) – Numbers show Illinois has the nation’s second-highest commercial property tax rate.
Chicago has the second-highest commercial property taxes in the nation at 3.78%, more than double the U.S. average for the largest cities in each state.
The study was done by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and the Minnesota Center for Fiscal Excellence and was put together by the Illinois Policy Institute.
According to the numbers, Chicago’s commercial property tax rate is the second highest in the nation, according to Justin Carlson of the Illinois Policy Institute.
“Detroit was the only rate that was higher,” Carlson said. “Of course, that is somewhat ominous in itself because Detroit went bankrupt in 2013.”
According to U.S. Census Bureau data, 91 of Illinois’ 102 counties lost population last year. The most recent IRS migration data indicated more than 105,000 taxpayers left Illinois in the year ending July 2021, taking with them $10 billion in income.
Carlson told The Center Square that residents leaving can be tied back to the high taxes.
“Population loss has been at the forefront of the conversation in Chicago and Illinois for a while now,” Carlson said. “Thats no different really with businesses. We have seen the headlines of major corporations headquartered in Chicago leaving for other states.”
Guggenheim, Boeing, Tyson, Caterpillar, and Citadel, among others, have all announced they would be leaving the city in recent years.
According to the report, Chicago’s commercial property taxes have been increasing over the past few years. In total, taxes billed over the last ten years have increased from $1.98 billion in the tax year 2011 to $3.82 billion in the tax year 2021.
Those high commercial rates have been burdensome to Chicago residents who do not own a business.
“Its driving rents even higher, so it’s impacting people’s affordability in the city,” Carlson told The Center Square. “It’s not just businesses that have been affected, its also renters.”
The commercial property tax in Chicago has increased by 93% over the last decade.
