Chicago's expanding appetite for new taxes

Crain's Chicago Business reports:

While Mayor Rahm Emanuel has held the line on property taxes, revenue from other local taxes has climbed nearly 20 percent since he took office.

A strengthening economy explains much of the surge. But Emanuel has fueled the growth by raising taxes on things such as cable TV and parking. Earlier this month, for instance, the city said it would extend the 9 percent amusement tax to websites such as Netflix and Spotify that stream movies and music.

Former Mayor Richard M. Daley was a master at finding money outside of property taxes, and Emanuel likewise has become a consummate practitioner of the art. A Crain's analysis of the budget shows that when you look beyond the property tax, city revenue has grown robustly since 2011, when Emanuel took office.

In 2012, for instance, the administration raised the hotel tax to 4.5 percent from 3.5 percent. Annual revenue shot up 77 percent from 2011 to 2015, to a projected $106.3 million.

Someone has to pay those public pensions.