Another tax Chicago bars and restaurants now have to pay

Crain's Chicago Business reports:

Last year, the Emanuel administration slipped through a tax on streaming video and cloud computing. Now, again without public hearings, City Hall is targeting bars and restaurants with a surcharge on satellite TV feeds.

Earlier this month, the city served notice that its 9 percent amusement tax applies to businesses that subscribe to satellite TV services. The impact likely will be felt most by public spaces that buy premium subscriptions for NFL and college games that can easily run $5,000 to $10,000 a year, meaning their annual taxes would come to at least $450.

"This is obviously a huge concern to our members," says Sam Toia, president of the Illinois Restaurant Association. "We did not expect the city to take this sudden shift in policy, which is going to hurt our members, especially the little guys and the independent guys out in the neighborhoods."

What the city is doing "is crazy," he adds. "They're nickel-and-diming these small places. They're going to kill them."

Under Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Chicago has raised a slew of taxes and fees to cover massive shortfalls in municipal employee pension plans, including new charges on garbage collection, water and sewer service, and plastic shopping bags. The satellite TV tax took even more creativity to come into being.

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