-- Connecting the dots between our economy, government and business --
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR FREE WIREPOINTS DAILY NEWSLETTER
I split my time between Chicago and my suburban office. A professional services tax will immediately cause me to readjust the amount of time I spend in Chicago. There’s no way my customers will pay a 10% tax on top of my professional fees. I would just have to eat the tax. But I’m not going to do that. I’m going to make my suburban office my primary office and only work downtown when I have to. That way all revenue will originate and flow through my suburban office and I will avoid the tax entirely.
Dear Debstor,
You are supposed to just bend over and take it (which in this case is pay the 10% tax).
No fair running away to the suburbs.
Sincerely,
Mayor Lighthead
P.S. Gee, do you thing any other professionals might do what you are planning? That would make me look like a fool. I know, I’ll double the tax to 20% on those that stay. That should work. Problem solved.
I’d survive an audit too. Most of my customers are in the suburbs anyways, I’d win any audit that tries to charge my suburban clients a city of chicago tax. The Chicago is merely for convenience and the address. I’ll suffer a little inconvenience to save my pocketbook the tax! I think a lot of small business professionals will do the same thing too. It’s the big, larger, captive firms that will have a more difficult time; but then again, if their customers are out of state, and the business has many locations, it only makes sense to put the… Read more »
Real estate transfer tax? (Estimated take $14M). Professional services tax? (Who knows what it will bring in but it will be less than projected due to comments such as Debtsor’s (likely very accurate)? Kick the can some more on pensions? Yup. Better run workers comp? Sure. Waste and abuse with leave? Yes to that, too. But all of these things still leave a huge budget gap. The numbers do not work. My guess is that Lightfoot is still pushing for a state bailout of sorts – of course – the state has no money. Emmanuel knew what he was doing… Read more »
” Emmanuel knew what he was doing when he declined to run again.”
Rahm’s new career is bashing progressives. Even he thinks they’ve gone too far left.