Chicago’s future as a financial center is under threat from $800 million in new taxes that Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson wants to impose – with business leaders reportedly “considering leaving the city.”
Derivatives firms, including DRW, IMC, CME and CBoe, represent just a portion of the Windy City’s $75 billion financial sector, but the Liberal mayor’s bold tax manifesto could shape the future of their hubs in the heart of the Midwest could endanger.
Johnson introduced the ‘Better Chicago Agenda’ on January 23 – his plan to tax ‘the suburbs, airlines and the ultra-rich’.
He expected this tax plan to generate $800 million in new revenue for the city.
Johnson promised to make $98 million by “making the big airlines pay for air pollution” in Chicago neighborhoods, $400 million by raising property taxes on expensive homes, and $100 million by “user fees on expensive commercial properties.” houses’. districts frequented by the wealthy, the suburban, tourists and business travelers.”
Chicago’s future as a financial center is threatened by $800 million in new taxes that Democrat Mayor Brandon Johnson wants to impose – as business leaders are reportedly ‘considering leaving the city’
Derivatives firms, including DRW, IMC, CME and CBoe, represent just a portion of the Windy City’s $75 billion financial sector, but the Liberal mayor’s bold tax manifesto could shape the future of their hubs in the heart of the Midwest endanger
When he ran for mayor, Johnson said he would raise more than $20 million by reinstating the $4-a-month-per-worker “head tax” on “big corporations” that do at least half of their work in Chicago perform.
Most importantly for big corporations, Johnson proposed making $100 million by taxing financial transactions at a rate of $1 or $2 for each “securities trading contract.”
Now, with a budget gap of nearly half a billion dollars, many trading companies and wealthy CEOs are assessing the risks of staying in the Windy City before Johnson’s tax plans take full effect.
According to BloombergClosed-door discussions between executives and policymakers make it clear that companies should consider leaving the city if crime remains a problem and the financial transactions tax is passed.
Ed Tilly, the CEO of Cboe Global Markets Inc, told Bloomberg: “We don’t want to leave, but we cannot be in a position where we are disadvantaged in the most competitive markets in the world, where our competitors are not. are confronted with the same economy as we are.’
Companies that ultimately flee Chicago wouldn’t be the first. Many lucrative companies have moved to Texas and Florida in recent years — and New York and California have each lost companies that managed about $1 trillion in assets.
Johnson’s concerns about the tax plans, combined with rising crime rates in Chicago, have created a dire situation.
Overall crime in Chicago is up 54 percent in 2023 compared to 2019, and is still 30 percent worse than this time last year.
So far in 2023, there have been 435 murders, 7,039 recorded robberies and 14,470 cases of theft.
In June 2022, it was announced that Illinois’ richest man would be leaving the state and taking his multibillion-dollar hedge firm to Florida, amid rising crime in the Windy City.
Ken Griffin announced that he and his family are moving to Miami, Florida – and said the headquarters of his Citadel hedge fund and his trading firm Citadel Securities will move with him
The move of Citadel’s headquarters (pictured) dealt a blow to Chicago’s reputation
In a memo to employees, Ken Griffin announced that he and his family are moving to Miami, Florida — and said the headquarters of his Citadel hedge fund and his trading firm Citadel Securities will move with him.
“Chicago will remain important to the future of the Citadel as many of our colleagues have deep ties to Illinois,” he wrote in the memo, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
“However, over the past year, many of our Chicago teams have requested to relocate to Miami, New York and other offices around the world.”
He went on to call Chicago a “remarkable home base” for Citadel, praising past support from political and business leaders.
But in the past, Griffin has spoken out against Chicago’s growing crime problem.
He even suggested he was considering leaving the Windy City because the crime problem makes it difficult to attract talent.
Griffin made no mention of rising crime in the city in his memo, but top executives say that is likely a major reason he decided to move the company, though they also note that Florida has no state income tax, which could allow Griffin to abandon his operations to grow. wealth even more.