(The Center Square) – Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and city officials are pushing to tax Chicago homes and businesses that are valued at or above $1 million.
The proposed plan would raise the city’s real estate transfer tax on properties valued at $1 million and above if enacted by the mayor and approved by the City Council.
The tax has a progressive three-tier structure, with different effective tax rates for property values under $1 million, between $1 million and $1.5 million, and more than $1.5 million, according to Wirepoints.
Ted Dabrowski, of Wirepoints, told The Center Square that this idea could have a negative impact on the city.
“[Johnson] wants to raise the taxes on Chicagoans, and it is a very dangerous thing to do given where Chicago is right now,” Dabrowski said. “There are empty buildings, we have the crime, we have got the people who are not coming into the city anymore from the suburbs. So we have a real serious issue, and yet they want to hike taxes on Chicagoans once again.”
Johnson previously said he would not to raise property taxes on Chicagoans while he is in office. Dabrowski said the promises Johnson has made are becoming harder to honor.
“We have to remember our commercial buildings, and I think that’s where the danger really is. Our commercial buildings, in many cases, are half empty, and so we are missing the tax base, and we are running the risk of pushing these properties into even worse positions,” Dabrowski said. “I think Johnson is finding out the promises he would like to make will be really difficult to keep.”
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.
From a business standpoint, the state has seen Guggenheim, Boeing, Tyson, Caterpillar, and Citadel, among others, leave the city in the past few years.
The proposed “mansion tax” will still need to be approved by the Chicago city council.
