The problem Brandon’s facing.
As homelessness numbers are increasing, Brandon Johnson has an idea to help with this problem. He is pushing to raise the taxes on houses worth 1 million or more which will only affect the rich.
Mayor Brandon put his support into this new version of the campaign named Bring Chicago Home. He stated this will bring in around $100 million annually. This is enough to fix the main reasonings for homelessness which will be building new and permanent housing. And the housing offing wraparound services, including substance abuse counseling, will help end poverty and reduce crime throughout Chicago.
Brandon stated that this campaign will help with the burdens on smaller and regular property owners.
However, the owners of the large commercial properties in downtown are criticizing the idea of higher taxes, especially during a time of slow sales and high-interest rates. The city is going through increased property tax and weak investors for the Chicago real estate.
“This 3-tier plan will hurt the city’s commercial office industry at a vulnerable time,” said Farzin Parang executive director of BOMA.
Parang stated “The city’s homelessness is a problem shared by the entire city. Placing the burden solely on the current weakest sector is poor public policy.”
What will the campaign do?
The tax system in Chicago has a flat tax rate on all property sales currently but Brandon’s proposal which was originally a two-tier plan now a three-tier plan and will break those home sales into those three categories. The proposal caused much dissatisfaction among owners of high-end properties.
With the original two-tier plan, it was gonna be 0.75% tax on house sales below $1 million and 2.65% tax on houses above $1 million. But the revised proposal by Brandon which contains three tiers will go as follows properties under 1 million will see a lower tax going from 0.75% to 0.6%, properties from $1 million to $1.5 million will see a rise in tax rate which will increase by 2% and the last tier properties above 1.5 million will see a 3% increase.
What happens after?
“Currently, the Bring Chicago Home plan won’t become law before spring occurs” stated Alderwoman Maria Hadden. She has been a long-time supporter of this campaign.
The proposal will go to the alderpeople who will make an official plan and then pass it to the City council to make it law.
We are awaiting a resolution to be presented to the City Council and then have it move on to the primary ballot. Maria has shown she hopes this will happen very soon.
But the proposal is already expected to be presented to the Council by September 13. Additionally, the council may vote in October to include these measures on the primary ballot. These measures have to be approved by January 3 to be presented to the ballot.
Additionally, voters will decide to accept these modifications to the tax system, and if it is approved by the voters in March there will be new ordinances that would have to be passed to make the revenue from the tax dedicated to the homelessness services.
Maria has also stated this would help protect Chicago from any potential legal challenge and overall would help homeowners and small landlords who have properties less than $1 million.
By Samuel Cruz
Sources:
WTTW News: Proposal to Hike Taxes on Sales of Million-Dollar Homes to Fight Homelessness Gains Momentum
The Gazelle: Brandon Johnson proposes tax hikes on high-end Chicago homes to fight homelessness
Block Club Chicago: Will City Hike Taxes On Pricey Home Sales To Fight Homelessness? Supporters Optimistic
Featured and Top Image Courtesy of Robert Lyle Bolton Flickr Page–Creative Commons License
Inset Image Courtesy of Daniel X. O’Neil Flickr Page–Creative Commons License
