(The Center Square) – Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says a corporate head tax would not be a job killer, but Republicans in the city disagree.
At a media availability this week, the mayor said a corporate head tax is on the table and insisted it would not be a job killer.
“When corporate leaders come to me, you know the No. 1 issue they talk about? It’s safety. That’s what they talk about. They don’t talk about job killing. They don’t have those conversations with me,” Johnson said.
Chicago 33rd Ward Republican committeeman Jason Proctor said the mayor is lying and there was a reason a previous head tax was eliminated.
“I understand the need for public safety and things along those lines but there are better ways to do it than continue to alienate jobs, organizations that would be paying this head tax,” Proctor told The Center Square.
Chicago Flips Red founder Zoe Leigh offered strong words for the mayor and referred to the Chicago Teachers Union in a social media statement on Johnson’s proposal to consider a corporate head tax.
“We need Operation Greylord 2.0. The feds need to come in and shut all of this down…Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration, CTU, all of it. A simple forensic audit would expose the corruption. This is ridiculous,” Leigh posted on X.
The mayor’s revenue plans could affect Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and members of his family.
Johnson has repeatedly pushed for progressive revenue and provided an example of a progressive revenue stream he had in mind.
“One of the things that we have been looking at has been the PILOT program, the payment in lieu of taxes. Those are some considerations that I believe that as a city we should look at,” Johnson said.
Proctor said universities and churches could be included as tax-exempt properties under a PILOT program.
Proctor said the mayor might also face resistance from people Johnson refers to as “ultra-rich.”
“As he stated, he wants to go after millionaires and billionaires. Well, we know where 14 of the billionaires are in Illinois. They’re all last-named ‘Pritzker,’” Proctor said.
Chicago is facing a budget deficit of more than $1 billion. The mayor said he would not propose a property tax increase in his budget, but he did not say he would not sign a budget which included property tax hikes.
