Mayor Johnson defends corporate head tax proposal for Chicago’s budget

CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson met with reporters Thursday as he continues to stand behind his cooperate head tax proposal for the city’s budget.

This corporate head tax charges big businesses a fixed fee per employee. Some aldermen and business groups are widely against it.

Johnson says the tax burden shouldn’t be placed on working class families.

“I don’t think its an unreasonable service for 3% of our largest cooperations that have 100 or more employess, that are full time, to pay their fair share. Look, I made a commitment to the people of Chicago that we’re going to invest in them, and that we’re going to challenge those with means to put more skin in the game. But I also made a commitment that we’re not going to continue to balance budgets off the backs of working people. There’s a better pathway for it. This cooperate head tax allows for us to continue to double down on our efforts to build the safest most affordable big city in America,” Johnson said.

Companies operating in the city with 100 employees would pay $21 per employee each month. This will raise $100 million for anti-violence prevention groups.

His opponents argue that it would discourage hiring, also forcing companies to make people work from home.

Another topic of discussion was Chicago’s downtown bus station. The Johnson administration wants to buy and rehab it. They want to use $35 million next year and $15 million in 2027 to get the job done.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Ald. Bill Conway, whose ward includes the location, says he was caught off guard by the announcement — adding there has been a lack of transparency about the bus station.

The goal is to close the city’s budget gap of $1.18 billion. The City Council is now faced with spending to keep Chicagoans safe amid making cuts.