* From the Moody’s PR department…
Moody’s has written a short report regarding Cook County, IL’s (rated A2/stable outlook) recent repeal of the penny-per-ounce sweetened beverage tax, also known as the “pop tax.” With the repeal, Cook County will forego $200 million in annual revenue, which it will likely offset with sufficient expenditure cuts to maintain stable financial operations. The repeal also reflects practical constraints on revenue raising.
The pop tax took effect on August 2, 2017, and Cook County projected it would generate $67.5 million this year and budgeted for slightly over $200 million in 2018, which would have been the first full year of collections. The county had planned to use the revenue for general operations and to offset potential fluctuations in economically sensitive revenues. The county will now need to identify alternate revenues and/or reduce expenditures to offset the revenue loss (equivalent to 5% of operating revenue), and will be looking at solutions through property taxes, sales taxes, and expense cuts, all of which carry practical challenges.
Over the last decade, Cook County has raised sales taxes, hotel taxes and beverage taxes to generate revenue to meet pension costs and other growing expenditures, including increasing debt service costs. The various tax hikes were implemented in an effort to keep the county’s property tax levy relatively flat. As a home rule unit of local government, the county has the legal ability to raise its property tax without limitation and has wide latitude to impose a variety of other taxes and fees.
However, the political backlash against the pop tax highlights the practical limitations on raising taxes, even if a government is legally permitted to do so. This practical limitation is particularly critical for Chicago-area local governments, given the significant revenue needs of Cook County, the City of Chicago, CPS and related entities. Any future tax hikes in the wake of the pop tax repeal will likely be met with some political opposition, exacerbating budget pressures for Cook County and other area local governments. [Emphasis added]
* It certainly is a worrisome time for politicians…
Moody’s observation came a day after Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed a 2018 city budget that includes a $1.10-per-month increase in the current $3.90 emergency communications fee that’s charged on every land line and cellphone billed to a city address. The mayor’s proposal also includes a phased-in 20-cent increase to the current 52-cent tax on all trips using ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft.
Some aldermen who will be called on to vote on those taxes have said the soda tax repeal was on their minds as they weighed the mayor’s proposal.
“This whole idea of revenue-generating ideas has to stop,” 12th Ward Ald. George Cardenas said after Emanuel gave his budget speech. “We have to sit down at a table and talk about cost-cutting ideas.” […]
The [Moody’s] analysis also noted that there were “unique issues” surrounding the penny-an-ounce tax on sweetened beverages that’s now coming to an end Dec. 1. Those included the much-debated public health benefits of the tax, the hefty cost increases for the drinks and the troubled rollout of the tax.
Those “unique issues” include the absolutely botched rollout and implementation.
- DDR - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 10:19 am:
There was a rollout?
- Ron Burgundy - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 10:23 am:
People will still swallow some tax increases if they are justified properly and implemented fairly. Show people you’ve honestly cut first and the tax is a last resort and you have a chance. With the soda tax, no one believed that cuts had been made first, it was poorly constructed and very poorly justified and implemented.
- Northsider - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 10:30 am:
More like a fizzle-out.
- My Kind of Town - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 10:31 am:
Big Soda and their helpers used a very unpopular tax to their advantage and achieved their FIRST goal: the repeal of the pop tax. I don’t believe for a minute they’re done.
They want to hang some scalps on the wall in the March primaries to send a message to elected officials in other communities to think twice before they think soda is easy pickings. Those continuing efforts will have a further chilling effect on others who are thinking about raising different taxes.
- Chicago_Downstater - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 10:33 am:
Meh, cut services & people complain. Raises taxes & people complain.
The Pop Tax was the County’s best bet for the least amount of constituency pain. However, a terrible roll-out & a very much ready for battle beverage lobby ruined that.
So now what?
I guess I’m just glad I’m not a politician.
- Ron Burgundy - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 10:36 am:
Cook County taxpayers were plenty angry about the soda tax well before Big Soda started running ads. Don’t sell the people short on this one.
- Roman - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 10:38 am:
It’s interesting to talk to Cook County-based GA members who have petitions out the streets right now. They’re catching very little heat over the state income tax or the mess in Springfield. All the voters want to talk about is the county pop tax.
- DuPage Saint - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 10:39 am:
Does Moody’s just take the government entity’s wordfor how much a tax will generate? I thought the actual figure turned out to be about $300,000 for first month. If trun a far cry from what was promised
- Anonymous - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 10:50 am:
good. I feel overtaxed.
- Anonymous - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 11:04 am:
If people wanna cut then cut. Pols should listen to the people. Plenty of bloat at county
- Last Bull Moose - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 11:09 am:
State, County, and City governments expanded services beyond the level supported by taxes levied. They used unfunded pensions as a piggybank to cover the shortfall.
Now, they not only have to pay the full cost for services rendered, they have to repay the funds borrowed. There needs to be serious thinking about how to downsize government with minimum damage to the vulnerable.
Cutting waste, fraud, and abuse will not do it. Services will have to go.
Current elected officials have alliances with service providers. This makes the cutting more difficult.
- Responsa - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 11:13 am:
==With the repeal, Cook County will forego $200 million in annual revenue,==
I wonder. Seemed like that was always a big stretch revenue expectation even before the repeal for several reasons: Because of the Bloomberg “health” initiative to get people to stop pop–and also the easy availability of Cook County tax free pop in neighboring states and counties–and also because of other corresponding purchases being made in those adjacent counties during pop shopping trips that would normally be made in Cook County and generating tax revenue for Toni.
- Chicago_Downstater - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 11:20 am:
Where is the bloat? All anyone talks about is cutting “the bloat.” But the second talks about cuts get serious no one wants to identify what to cut.
Should we scale back street-cleaning? How about homeless services? Do we need that new police academy? How about we just cut all the county workers’ pay? It’s not like those folks spend their discretionary income in our places of private business or anything.
Point out this pointless bloat & send it in to the county. Be a hero.
*rant over*
- anon2 - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 11:28 am:
The pop tax was too visible. The County could follow the path of homerule municipalities and raise or impose utility taxes that most residents pay little attention to.
- the Cardinal - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 11:38 am:
Anon at 10:50
Just wait till you see whats in the Federal tax change proposals. Elimination of morgage and prop tax exemptions just for starters.
- City Zen - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 11:39 am:
==…and also because of other corresponding purchases being made in those adjacent counties during pop shopping trips that would normally be made in Cook County…==
That’s key. Few shoppers solely purchase soda on any give trip. Their entire purchase should be taken into account in lost revenue. Furthermore, how many shoppers used that as an excuse to fill their gas tank in Will County? Or dine in DuPage? Or a non-grocery purchase in Lake?
- Amalia - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 11:43 am:
Rich nails it, the botched rollout and implementation are what really killed the soda tax. As for other fiscal dilemmas, perhaps Moody’s and others could write generally about government financing by talking about the services that are delivered. The public does need to better understand what it gets and that things will be lost if not funded. fund or cut. there is precious little understanding of this. hello John McCarron? op ed.
- Fav human - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 11:55 am:
Let’s not forget the misleading sale of the tax. How often was it called sugary drinks tax?
How often did we see it would not apply to diet?
And the hypocrite factor was there. Pop taxed, Starbucks not.
Add the visibility of the tax, and you get a repeat of the Dan R. Episode, minus little old ladies
- NoGifts - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 12:16 pm:
And don’t forget Preckwinkle threatening to sue the people who brought it to court when the JUDGE put a hold on it. That turned a lot of people off.
- Ghost - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 12:23 pm:
Moody’s makes a good point. People were going to favor a tax increase before this…. hopefully Moody’s will do a report on how getting salt in an open wound will make people no longer we t to pour salt on their cuts
- Anon - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 12:51 pm:
All heck is going to break loose in this state when people realize the actual size and scope of the tax increases that are coming in the next 2 decades most likely.
The worst part is that services will be cut back tremendously at the same time as the tax increases are happening, stoking voter anger even further.
The politicians in this state made this bed, but with occupancy full everywhere else now it is finally time for them to have to lie in it.
- Texas Red - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 1:36 pm:
Soda tax hit the dem constituency the most - many folks don’t pay property taxes, and the income tax hits some less than others based on income levels - and tourist pay hotel taxes. But everyday folk buy soda, and they hit the ceiling when they saw how much the tax increase their purchase price.
- Anon - Friday, Oct 20, 17 @ 2:27 pm:
IMHO the taxpayer generally does not understand the cost of services provided by government but the issue is that most costs are lumped together on tax bills.
State, county and local governments should begin the process of breaking down the cost of each major department i.e law enforcement, public works, fire, in addition to school districts on property tax bills. That way tax payers are informed of the costs incurred by each service.
I think they would be shocked the taxes that LEO’s drain away