Johnson proposes 11 tax and fee hikes totaling $234M

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed budget includes $233.9 million in tax hikes including rideshare prices and streaming services. It has already passed a key committee in the city council.

Chicago is on the verge of adding $233.9 million in new tax hikes as part of the city’s $17.3 billion budget for 2025, if aldermen pass Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposals.

Johnson’s tax increases include hikes in property taxes, personal property leases, the city shopping bag tax and the tax on streaming services. Hikes are hitting vehicles with more speed cameras, parking taxes and rideshare fees.

These have already passed the City Council Finance Committee, meaning it could pass the full council by the end of the week. The bulk of the tax hikes will come from:

• $68.5 million: Property tax hike, down from Johnson’s original $300 million ask which was met with a unanimous “no” vote by the city council.
• $128.1 million: Hiking personal property lease tax, including on cloud computing, to 11% from 9%.
• $12.9 million: Increasing the amusement tax on streaming and tickets to live events to 10.25% from 9%.
• $11.4 million: Increase number of speed cameras in the city.
• $5.1 million: Raising paper and plastic, single-use shopping bag tax by 3 cents to 10 cents total.
• $7.9 million: Other fees and taxes, including on parking and rideshares.

Find your city council member and tell them Chicago taxes are already too high. The new budget is due by the end of the year, so they could vote on the hikes in a matter of days.