The Civic Federation released its annual Consumer Tax Rates Report in March, which lists and describes selected consumer taxes within the City of Chicago, including the complicated way the hotel operators’ tax is calculated and why. This blog post will explain in detail the hotel operators’ tax history and dissect the tax rate calculation for FY2023. Hotel Tax Rates and History The State hotel…
In the current campaign for Chicago Mayor and City Council, several candidates have called for restoring the City’s employer’s expense or “head” tax, a tax that was repealed in 2014. An employer’s expense tax, or head tax, is imposed on businesses at a flat rate based on the number of employees at that firm. Typically larger firms are subject to the tax. Head taxes in the U.S. are relatively…
Click here to read the full report. INTRODUCTION This annual report lists and describes selected consumer taxes within the City of Chicago. For ease of use by non-specialists, the taxes in this report are grouped under the following categories: sales taxes, tobacco and nicotine-related taxes, cannabis-related taxes, beverage-related taxes, utility-related taxes, accommodations-related taxes,…
This post presents information on residential, commercial and industrial estimated effective property tax rates in northeastern Illinois municipalities in 2019, with some comparisons to rates a decade prior. The Civic Federation produces an annual estimated effective property tax rates report for Chicago and 28 other selected municipalities in northeastern Illinois. Of the municipalities, 12 are…
Click here to read the full report. Click here to read a press release for this analysis. MAJOR FINDINGS Effective property tax rates are a measure of property tax burden for homeowners and businesses. They translate the tax rates on property tax bills into rates that reflect the percentage of full market value that a property owed in taxes for a given year. This report, produced…
The Civic Federation annually releases a report on consumer taxes in the City of Chicago, which will be released next month. Consumer taxes are tied to the use or consumption of certain goods and services that can be charged directly to consumers through retail transactions or passed on to consumers by businesses or governments. Consumer taxes in Chicago are imposed at various levels of…
In the State of Illinois, non-home rule units of government located in counties subject to the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law (PTELL) are limited in the size of their annual property tax extension to 5% or the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), whichever is less. However, the limitation is subject to some exceptions and can be increased by referendum. The Forest Preserve District…
In a position statement released yesterday, the Civic Federation announced it supports passage of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County’s (FPDCC) property tax extension limitation law (PTELL) referendum that will be on the November 8 election ballot for voters in Cook County. The referendum question asks Cook County voters whether the Forest Preserve District’s property tax limiting rate…
The Cook County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on September 22, 2022 to repeal the Wheel Tax as of June 30, 2023. The Wheel Tax is an annual license fee authorizing the use of any motor vehicle within the unincorporated areas of Cook County. Areas of Cook County that are unincorporated are not part of a municipality and therefore municipal services to those areas, such as policing and…
The Commission on Governmental Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) has released a new report on gaming in Illinois. The report provides a comprehensive look at all forms of legally sanctioned wagering in the state, including casino gambling, horse racing, video gaming, the Lottery and now sports betting. In FY2022, the State of Illinois collected nearly $1.9 billion in total gaming revenues.[…
