In 2017, Chicagoans paid $40 million in taxes on cloud computing and streaming services. It was $150 million this past fiscal year.
Sales tax revenue is up from pre-pandemic levels, in part because Illinois is now forcing online retailers to charge local sales tax rates as high as 10.25%. No tax breaks this Cyber Monday.
While phasing in the tax impact of sharp increases in assessed value could help Cook County’s commercial property owners adjust, holding down property taxes requires reducing spending through public pension reform in Illinois.
Chicago will spend $32 million on the nation’s largest test of universal basic income. What happens after that year is one question, as is whether handing out cash will truly fix anything.
Chicago is getting closer to getting a casino, but more ways and places to gamble do not necessarily mean more state revenue. Illinois would be better off betting on pension reform.
Taxes are different on different types of candy in Illinois, with some brands taxed six times more than others. Just because you can eat it, doesn’t mean Illinois’ tax policy sees it as food.
Redirecting some of Illinois’ school district administrative overhead could attract top talent to the more than 4,100 teacher openings. The savings could be $1,317 per taxpayer in one veteran teacher’s hometown. Reform pensions, and that amount grows.
“I have good relationships with my tenants, so I do everything I can to help them. My husband and I hoped to pass the building on to our son, yet these taxes put business and property owners in a tough spot.”
Chicago might spend $32 million on the nation’s largest test of universal basic income. What happens after that year is one question, as is whether handing out cash will truly fix anything.
A new report from watchdog Truth in Accounting shows each taxpayer’s share of state debt has nearly doubled since 2009 to $57,000 as total debt increased by $10 billion—mostly due to pension obligations.
Soldier Field is the NFL’s oldest stadium and home to the bears since 1971. Though their city contract runs through 2033, many expect the team will move to the suburbs after the purchase of Arlington Park in the northwest suburbs.
During the past decade, one of the few taxpayer-supported local history museums in Illinois collected over $2 million. That is ending, but not before another $300,000 in taxes is handed to the museum.
An underused airport near Belleville, Illinois, has required local taxpayers to chip in $119.5 million since 2002 to keep it operating. Even with pandemic money, 2020 was even worse.
“A $60,000 increase isn’t gradual. I thought, ‘This has to be a mistake. Someone must have spilled their coffee, added a zero, or something.’”