Cook County Considers 3 Percent Tax on Cable, Bowling And Other Fun Things

By Kate Shepherd in News on Oct 14, 2015 7:20PM

Cook County residents could be facing another tax hike if County Board President Toni Preckwinkle gets her way.

She wants to extend the 3 percent amusement tax to include cable TV and recreational activities including bowling, golf and sports ticket resales, just months after her penny-on-the-dollar sales tax increase, according to the Tribune. (It will not, however, apply to major sports events like Chicago Cubs and Blackhawks games, Crain's says.)

Chicago residents would be hit hard because City Hall already has a 9 percent amusement tax on cable TV, sports ticket resales, bowling and golf.

The tax is being proposed to raise $20 million to help close the projected $199 million Cook County operating budget hole, county Chief Financial Officer Ivan Samstein told the Tribune.

"We in Illinois of all places should know that the cost of not dealing with structural problems doesn't get better, it gets worse over time," Samstein said to the Tribune.

Preckwinkle is also proposing a tax on the liquids that fuel electronic cigarettes. It would tax 20 cents for every milliliter of liquid sold and is estimated to bring in about $1.5 million a year for the county. Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed a similar tax in his 2016 budget.

And the budget Preckwinkle is proposing also includes big cuts. The biggest would be a $39 million reduction in a subsidy for the Cook County Health and Hospitals System, Crain's says. Preckwinkle is also proposing $32.6 million in personnel cuts, which includes shuttering three buildings on the jail campus.