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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson\u2019s plan to increase taxes on real estate transactions of $1 million or more was struck down by a local court, a major blow to his progressive agenda.<\/p>\n
At a hearing on Friday, Cook County Judge Kathleen Burke ruled against a referendum question on the so-called Mansion Tax. The challenge was brought by the local chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association, which argued the question placed on the March 19 primary election ballot was \u201cmisleading and unconstitutional.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson surprised pundits when he beat incumbent Lori Lightfoot in the mayor\u2019s race last year, finally prevailing over rival Paul Vallas in the runoff. The progressive Democrat came to power promising to increase taxes on the rich, including a proposal to boost the real estate transfer tax for both residential and commercial buildings to help tackle homelessness.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis referendum would be a backdoor property tax on all Chicagoans, and it is important that our elected officials not mislead voters otherwise,\u201d Farzin Parang, BOMA\u2019s executive director for Chicago, wrote in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A spokesman for Johnson and the city\u2019s law department couldn\u2019t immediately comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Johnson had proposed increasing one-time real estate transfer taxes on properties over $1 million, while reducing levies on transactions below that. The tax would also be graduated, with properties between $1 million and $1.5 million incurring a duty increase of $10 per every $500, and properties over that facing charges of $15 for every $500.<\/p>\n
READ: Chicago Mansion Tax Proposal Faces Shaky Real Estate Market<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe are outraged by the fact that this small minority of wealthy real estate interests would rather spend thousands of dollars on legal fees to preserve a brutally unjust status quo than pay their fair share in taxes,\u201d said Maxica Williams, president of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.<\/p>\n There isn\u2019t enough time for the referendum question to be removed from the ballot, but results won\u2019t be counted or released. The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners said it\u2019s still evaluating its options on whether to appeal.\u00a0<\/p>\n (The case is Building Owners and Managers Association et Al., v. Board of Election Commissioners For the City of Chicago, et al., 2024COEL00001, The Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSubscribe to the CFO Daily newsletter to keep up with the trends, issues, and executives shaping corporate finance. Sign up<\/a> for free.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n