Employer community remains opposed to Mayor Emanuel’s plan to shift the property tax hike burden to employers, renters
Springfield,
IL – Employers and civic groups across the state remain opposed to Chicago
Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s proposal to shift the property tax hike burden onto
employers and renters by doubling the homeowners’ exemption from $7,000 to
$14,000. The Mayor’s proposal, if enacted statewide, would cause a chaotic
patchwork of shifting property tax burdens on to employers and renters.
After
withholding his legislative plan for nearly a month after presenting a budget
that would further shift the cost of the largest property tax in Chicago
history on to Chicago-area employers and renters by doubling the homeowners’
exemption, Mayor Emanuel just introduced an amendment to Senate Bill 1488,
which could be voted on by the full house today, leaving everyone impacted with
just hours to analyze and review. This is the same plan that Cook County Board
President Toni Preckwinkle has unequivocally stated “we can’t do.” Such
recognition from the Cook County Board President should give everyone pause and
hesitation. If this plan was capable of being implemented, it would have been
formally introduced in Springfield over a month ago.
It
appears the Mayor’s plan will be applied statewide, which would wreak havoc on
small and large businesses and their employees in addition to the overall
economic climate of all communities throughout the State still recovering from
the Great Recession.
The
employer community is asking Mayor Emanuel to work in cooperation with those
who are driving the economy on the fiscal challenges facing Chicago and allow
those impacted adequate time to accurately analyze the property tax burden the
Mayor of Chicago has planned to further shift on employers and renters
throughout Illinois.
The
employer community remains opposed to any plan from the Mayor of Chicago that
would further shift the burden on to employers and renters through a doubling
of the homeowners’ exemption.
Building
Owners and Managers Association of Chicago (BOMA/Chicago)
Chemical
Council Industry of Illinois
Chicagoland
Apartment Association
Chicagoland
Chamber of Commerce
Illinois
Hotel & Lodging Association
Illinois
Chamber of Commerce
Illinois
Manufacturers’ Association
Illinois
Retail Merchants Association
National
Federation of Independent Business
Taxpayers
Federation of Illinois
