Chicago corporate head tax could return after decade-long absence

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson He proposes reviving a corporate tax that the Windy City eliminated more than a decade ago and which businesses warn would cost the city jobs.

Johnson proposes what is called “poll tax“This will apply to businesses with more than 100 employees and will impose a monthly fee of $21 per employee on businesses that meet the employment threshold.

The tax amount will increase based on inflation, and will be assessed based on the number of employees who work in Chicago 50% or more of the time.

The mayor sees it as a way to reduce Chicago’s $1.2 billion budget deficit, which the city estimates will raise $100 million annually.

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Chicago imposed a head tax from 1973 to 2014, raising an average of $20 million in 2014. Tax revenues During that period. The tax amount used to be $4 per person for businesses with more than 50 employees — although it dropped to $2 in 2012 when the tax began being phased out under Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

The head tax would be a “job killer,” Sam Toia, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association, told FOX Business Network’s Kelly Saberi.

“I was saying before the pandemic, restaurants were running on nickels and dimes. Now they’re running on pennies and nickels, and if we have a job-killing poll tax, it’s going to kill jobs, and we won’t see the restaurant industry grow here in the city of Chicago.”

Mayor Brandon Johnson sees the poll tax as a way to reduce Chicago’s $1.2 billion budget deficit. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via/Getty Images)

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Johnson proposes a series of other taxes, including cloud services, Ride sharing services In high-traffic areas, social media companies, online sports betting, and yacht docking to help increase revenue.

the Cloud taxwhich has already been implemented and will increase from 11% to 14%, will raise an estimated $333 million in revenue annually. The ride-sharing tax would be expanded by adding a high-traffic area and would raise an expected $230 million annually.

Chicago has seen several high-profile corporate departures in recent years, including Ken Griffin’s Castle. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)

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Chicago has seen several high-profile corporate departures in recent years, including Ken Griffin’s Castle.

Companies that have moved their headquarters or significant portions of their operations outside of Chicago include Boeing, Caterpillar, Guggenheim Partners, TTX and Tyson Foods.