The White Sox issued a letter to fans rebuking the latest round of proposed amusement tax hikes by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and city legislators. Chicago already has one of the highest levies on cultural events in the U.S. and the latest increase would vault the city into another echelon.
“As you may know, the current amusement tax on tickets to sporting events in Chicago, like White Sox games, is at 12% — already one of the highest in the United States,” the letter from White Sox officials reads. “Meanwhile, the amusement tax for concerts, still high by national standards, is taxed at a lower rate, currently 6.5%.”
Emanuel’s proposal would exempt midsize theatres from the tax while raising duties on larger venues. There is currently a five percent tax on all cultural events held at any for-profit venue with at least 750 seats around Chicago. The new proposal would expand the tax break to venues with 1,499 seats. However, venues with 1,500 or more seats would suffer a four-percent increase.
The White Sox disagree with those figures stating that concert tickets would witness an 80 percent hike to 10.5 percent. Regardless, the White Sox vehemently oppose any tax increase, stating
“Chicago stands alone for many reasons that we can be proud of – but having the highest amusement taxes for fans attending sports and concerts in the United States should not be one of them.”
The statement continues and lays bare their reasoning.
“We think it’s a bad idea for several reasons. First, in the short term, it will cost you, the music fan, more money. But the costs long term will be even greater. By driving this tax to one of the highest in the country, Chicago will lose concerts. As the shows leave, so do the dollars that flow through restaurants, cabs and hotels on any given show night. And despite what our political leaders believe, the losses will far surpass any gains a tax increase was intended to garner.”
The mayor’s office estimates that 30 venues will qualify for renewed tax relief under the proposed tax while 15 venues will bear higher tax rates. Under Emmanuel’s administration, Chicago has endured six years of tax raises and the mayor declared that “Chicago is on firmer financial footing than we have been in many years.”
This may be true and the financial state of affairs in Chicago may still need tweaking, but boosting the levy on sporting venues will level on undue burden on sports fans. Wrigley field hosted eight concerts in 2017 while Guaranteed Rate Field held several events as well, including the Get IN It MusicFest in September.
If the tax measure is adopted, ticket prices are sure to climb with no hope for relief at parking lots and the concession stands. It is already difficult to take a family to a sporting event and it is almost unimaginable what will happen with a trickle-down tax levy. Sporting events used to be the proletariate’s weekend respite, but now it appears to be the wealthy’s colosseum.
