Microsoft, Salesforce, ChatGPT, Amazon Web Services and Zoom would all come with higher prices under Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s cloud tax.
Cloud-based computer services such as Microsoft 365, Salesforce, ChatGPT, Amazon Web Services and Zoom could all get pricier in Chicago soon. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s 2026 budget would raise the city’s tax cloud tax from 11% to 14%.
Here are some of the services that would be more expensive:
The tax increase is the largest single source of revenue in the city’s proposed 2026 budget and is expected to bring in $333 million from the hike, $1.1 billion in total.
Known formally as the Personal Property Lease Tax, it’s aimed at businesses, but the added costs will most likely find their way to consumers as businesses pass them along. The tax also makes Chicago’s business climate less favorable by increasing the cost of doing business in the city.
Lawmakers look at tax hikes as a quick option to fix a budget, but raising Chicago’s cloud tax does nothing to address the deeper issues such as rising pension obligations.
A responsible city budget would look to change the fiscal trajectory that compels elected officials to search for new ways to squeeze more out of the city’s already overtaxed businesses and families.
Tax increases that punish businesses for operating in Chicago and raise costs for residents aren’t a solution to the city’s financial woes: they’re short-sighted and self-defeating.
The tax remains to be approved or rejected by city council as part of the city’s budget process.
