CHICAGO— Today, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the City of Chicago has completed two enforcement actions taken against large corporations operating in Chicago that had been under-paying on the City’s Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax, a key progressive revenue included in the Johnson administration’s 2026 budget proposal.
The recovery of the unpaid funds was made possible by the Johnson administration’s ongoing work to enhance the City’s collection capacity, including targeted investments in the personnel needed to hold delinquent entities accountable.
“We’ve made strategic investments to bolster the City’s collection efforts, with an explicit focus on ensuring those with the greatest means don’t shirk their obligation to the collective well-being of our city,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “As we begin to look towards the upcoming budget, what’s clear is that there is far more potential to raise revenue by challenging the largest corporations to pay their fair share than there is by attempting to squeeze pennies from working Chicagoans who are already struggling to get by.
I want to thank the public servants who pursued these cases to ensure those with the greatest ability to pay more actually do.”
The collections announced today are the result of extensive work by the City’s Department of Finance over several months to identify significant gaps in tax receipts from two under-paying corporations who hold leases in the city related to software products.
Out of hundreds of audits that DOF conducts every year, these collections are among the largest in City history and the largest single enforcement collections in over 30 years.
The Johnson administration has prioritized increasing DOF tax audit staff to strengthen enforcement and collection against scofflaw entities such as large corporations.
Mayor Johnson’s 2026 budget included 13 new auditors, all of whom were hired earlier this year.
“We have put considerably more resources into our enforcement efforts and are seeing the results today,” said City Comptroller Michael D.
Belsky. “Large corporations, who clearly have the means to pay, should not be allowed to evade their tax obligations to Chicago.
Under Mayor Johsnon’s leadership, the City is ensuring they will not.”
Chicago’s Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax applies to businesses or individuals that lease or rent personal property used in Chicago, especially computer equipment used for data, software, and related transactions.
Throughout 2026, the PPLT has been a source of sustainable, structural revenue, outperforming budget expectations and helping to offset revenue losses from failed elements of the Alternative Budget adopted by members of City Council.
As of the City’sAugust Revenue Report, the PPLT has produced more than $737.6 million, nearly $23 million above original projections.
Additionally, Mayor Johnson’s groundbreaking Social Media Amusement Responsibility Tax has generated $32.4 million, $11.7 million more than was projected.
The Johnson administration is also committed to doing more with the resources currently available and to finding new ways to make city government more productive and effective.
Across Mayor Johnson’s three budgets since taking office in 2023, the City has achieved more than $740 million in cost savings through organizational improvements and efficiency efforts, a practice the administration will continue to pursue in the FY 2027 budget in order to maximize the effect of every public dollar.
The City’s Office of Budget and Management publishes monthly revenue reports, availablehere.