A Chicago “Mansion Tax” Would Hurt Small Businesses, Customers, Employees, and Renters – Tax Foundation

"Much like marriage license fees help offset the costs to the state of providing marriage licenses and updating government records, modest real estate transfer taxes are justifiable when they help compensate for government services reasonably associated with the transfer of property. The proposed tax increase in Chicago, however, would go far beyond that scope, with proponents seeking to take advantage of an existing revenue stream to generate large amounts of new revenue for unrelated purposes."