$1 Billion in Progressive Revenue
LET’S TAX BILLIONAIRES AND CORPORATIONS TO FUND THE SERVICES FAMILIES NEED!
The Problem
Chicago is facing a $1.15 billion budget gap, and with the current state of the federal government, it could get even worse! Past Mayors have closed deficits by cutting jobs, raising fees and fines on working families, and slashing vital programs and services. Our communities can’t afford to follow this playbook any longer. We need to generate the necessary resources to fund critical programs and avoid painful cuts or regressive fees.
The Solution
Neighborhood residents and community leaders from across the city have come together under the People’s Unity Platform to compile a list of progressive revenue solutions that will tax corporations and wealthy institutions, and give back funds that have been taken from our communities. Together, they can raise over $1 billion per year in new progressive revenue.
CORPORATE EMPLOYER EXPENSE TAX (aka Community Safety Surcharge)
Enact a head tax on corporations on a per employee basis that exempts businesses under 100 employees, non-profits, and grocery stores.
The Revenue Generated: $400 million
Big Tech Data Mining Tax
Taxing the largest social media and data mining corporations for profiting off of our attention and our personal data.
The Revenue Generated: with the top 7 social media companies alone, we project this to raise $50 million per year
TIF Surplus
Declaring a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) surplus on all unobligated funds, bringing them back into the corporate budget.
The Revenue Generated: approximately $323 million
PILOT (Payment in Lieu of Taxes)
Universities with the largest endowments in the city limits should make a payment to the city and contribute to funding city infrastructure and services, in lieu of paying property taxes, given their tax-exempt status.
The Revenue Generated: If these entities could contribute 0.5 - 1% of their Assets Under Management (AUM), they could support $165M-$330M of services for the city.
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