Preckwinkle Gets Sales Tax Increase: Critics Fear Hike Will Hurt Businesses
Yasmin Curtis has a thriving sports bar on the city’s South Side.
The 35-year-old woman, who opened the Bronzeville Sports Bar and Grill nearly five years ago, now has eight employees.
But Curtis said she fears she might have to cut back on workers because of a tax hike that starts next year.
Last week, the Cook County Board passed a sales tax that will increase to 10.25 percent.
The penny on the dollar increase is expected to raise about $473 million.
But some business owners like Curtis argue that the increase will ultimately cause their businesses to struggle. Some owners say customers might simply shop for items outside the county, saying the increase will make the county’s tax among the highest in the country.
Cook County Board President Tony Preckwinkle said the increase is needed as the county grapples with a $6.5 billion unfunded pension liability crisis.
Most of the proceeds would be placed into the county pension fund, Preckwinkle said.
A smaller portion of money would be used for infrastructure and roads, as well as paying down debt.
Last Wednesday, the measure passed 9-7. One vote was cast as present.
“I understand that this was not an easy vote,” Preckwinkle said. “This was not an easy proposal for me to put forth. But I feel strongly that leaders are elected to lead, and that in this case we had to step up and make the tough decisions for the future of Cook County.
Ironically, Preckwinkle’s tax increase comes after she was elected in 2010, on her promise to roll back then Cook County President Todd Stroger’s sale tax increase, which, in terms of percentages, is exactly the same as the percentage increase she got approved last week.
Several county employees argued in favor of the increase.
But some opponents, like Commissioner Richard Boykin (1st- Dist.) said the tax will hurt businesses and the needy.
“I think the tax is the most regressive tax policy in America,” Boykin said.
He added that the tax was “placing a burden on poor people.”
The tax will place a penny on every dollar spent on items that the needy struggle to already pay for, he said.
Curtis, who owns a sports bar at 4310 S. Prairie Ave., said she plans to increase the price of nearly every item she has by $1, including hamburgers and beer.
But Curtis said she fears the increase will hurt business and she might eventually have to cut staff.
“I have to see if customers are willing to pay for the increase,” she said. “I don’t want to raise my prices.”
Curtis said she has always had a dream of being an entrepreneur.
She said she was reared in the neighborhood where she now owns her business and said it was not uncommon for her to see black entrepreneurs back then.
So, after Curtis received a college degree and worked hard, she started her own venture.
“I am definitely an advocate for black businesses,” said Curtis, who now fears her business may suffer dramatically from the tax increase.
“I definitely don’t want this sales tax,” she said.
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