Modernizing the Head Tax

Chicago has a nearly $1B budget crisis. Garbage fees and property tax hikes have been floated to close it instead of touching corporate wealth. The Head Tax is the clearest way to stop balancing the books on working people.

The City of Chicago has a looming budget deficit of over $1 billion built on 40 years of financial mismanagement, cuts in corporate taxes and failure to enact progressive revenue options.  This has led to the cutting of services, privatization and loss of city jobs, and moves to reduce pension obligations.  Raising progressive revenue will always be met with aggressive litigation and well-funded disinformation by wealthy corporate forces to protect their profits.  But Chicago does have a proven way to tax corporations that has withstood legal challenges, the corporate Head Tax.

This report outlines the history of the Head Tax, the challenges brought forth by forces opposed to this tax measure, and what it could look like if it were to be modernized to current rates of inflation and corporate taxation and raise $400 million in progressive revenue per year while holding small and medium sized businesses harmless and creating jobs for the economy.

Read the full report here.