CHICAGO (Feb. 8, 2024) – Chicago primary ballots will be mailed today to registered voters, offering the first opportunity to vote on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s controversial “mansion tax.”

The proposal increases the transfer tax rate on the sale of properties valued at over $1 million with revenue going to address homelessness. The Illinois Policy Institute warnsthis tax increase would mainly impact businesses, putting small businesses at risk of closure or losing money and decreasing already low commercial property values throughout the city.

“This isn’t a ‘mansion tax,’ but a business tax. It will make it harder to start, operate and sell businesses in Chicago. At a time when the city is facing record-high vacancy rates, the mayor should be looking for ways to incentivize entrepreneurs and encourage businesses to migrate into Chicago, not punish them,” said Bryce Hill, director of fiscal and economic research at the Illinois Policy Institute. 

The latest polling from the institute’s Lincoln Poll shows 68% of Chicagoans disapprove of Johnson’s approach to homelessness in the city. Chicago is currently slated to spend $400 million on homelessness and homeless migrants, with $44 million still unused.

“Johnson has no plan for how the money will be spent. As it stands, this tax increase is a slush fund for Johnson to finance any project that loosely addresses homelessness,” Hill said. “For residents unsatisfied with the city’s high taxes, lack of affordability and loose accountability, the ‘mansion tax’ vote provides Chicagoans an opportunity to tell city leaders what they think about another tax hike.”

Illinois Policy Institute experts are available for Zoom or in-person interviews to discuss what voters need to know about the “mansion tax” and its effects on Chicagoans. 

To read more about the mansion tax, visit illin.is/mansiontax.