Daywatch: Changes to Johnson’s ‘Bring Chicago Home’ proposal
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Good morning, Chicago.
Mayor Brandon Johnson is changing the proposal behind one of his hallmark campaign promises to increase the real estate transfer tax on high-end houses and use the money to fight homelessness.
The new plan, which Johnson introduced this week, would create a tiered tax rate system in which the owners of a home that sells for less than $1 million would pay less in transfer taxes than they would now, while residential properties upward of $1.5 million would see a higher rate increase than in the earlier proposal.
Shifting from a flat-rate increase for sales above $1 million to a three-tiered system was in part to address concerns about burdening property owners of smaller multifamily buildings. The proposal is expected to be introduced in September to the City Council, which could vote in October on whether to place the measure on the March 2024 primary ballot. It would then be up to voters whether to approve or reject the modifications to the tax.
Read the full story from the Tribune’s Alice Yin.
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