Written by Eric Cox
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Chicagoans will vote in Tuesday's primary election on whether to raise tax rates on real estate transfers worth more than $1 million to raise money for affordable housing and homelessness efforts.
The ballot measure would reduce the real estate transfer tax for most Chicago residents to $3 per $500 of transfers under $1 million, from the current flat rate of $3.75.
But a new tier has been created at the most expensive end of the city's real estate market, such as the many office buildings that fill Chicago's skyline: $10 for every $500 in transfer prices between $1 million and $1.5 million; Anything above that would be subject to a $15 tax rate.
Supporters of the Democratic-led City Council's “Make Chicago Home” bill estimate the changes would generate an additional $100 million in revenue each year that would go toward anti-homelessness services.
Alderman Carlos Ramirez Rose, who represents Chicago's 35th Ward, said the new tax system would bring Chicago on par with San Francisco, Philadelphia and other major U.S. cities.
“This isn't a big scary change,” he says. “Much of the fear-mongering and misinformation comes from the world's wealthiest companies.”
Approximately 93% of home purchases in Chicago cost less than $1 million and are expected to receive a tax reduction, according to the city.
Some landlords and managers of luxury properties oppose the measure. The Chicago Building Owners and Managers Association says it will hamper efforts to revitalize downtown office towers that are struggling to retain tenants in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. .
As in other American cities, many of Chicago's less affluent residents must contend with rising rents and home prices. Illinois law requires the Legislature to notify voters before implementing property tax changes.
More than 68,000 Chicagoans were permanently homeless at some point in 2021, the most recent year for which data is available, according to a recent report from the Chicago Homeless Coalition, which advocates for tax changes. He said he did not have a home.
(Reporting by Eric Cox in Chicago and Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Leslie Adler)
