It costs a pretty penny to park in the Loop, but it could become even more expensive thanks to Mayor Daley's proposed tax increase. Many Chicagoans are making their voices heard against this issue, but whether their protests will actually be able to stop the tax remains to be seen.
Monthly parking is nearly $300 a month downtown already, and now City Hall is discussing a proposal that would raise the parking tax. The parking industry has had enough, though, saying that taxes have been raised six times over the past 12 years. In order to prevent passing that extra cost on to customers, parking garage workers decided to protest.
Employees at the Lake/Wells Self Park Facility passed out flyers to motorists at 8 a.m. Tuesday, encouraging them to complain to their alderman. They point out that Chicago has the second-highest parking tax in the country, more than New York City and Los Angeles. (Pittsburgh has the highest tax.)
Right now, people are paying 27 cents in taxes for every dollar that is spent on parking. The new proposal would raise that amount to 33 cents. Mayor Daley said he proposed the increase to help close a massive budget shortfall.
