The Small Business Administration announced that it will be moving its Downtown Chicago based Regional Office out of Chicago because of the city’s non-compliance with Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement Actions. In addition to Chicago, offices in Atlanta, Boston, Denver, New York, and Seattle will also be moved.
I’ve received several calls in reference to this, so I’d like to clear up some confusion. They’ve announced that their Regional Offices are being moved, but their District Offices are staying in place.
The District Offices are the portion of the SBA that provide services like counseling and help with applying for SBA Loans. That part, according to the SBA Website, isn’t going anywhere.
You won’t need to drive to Wisconsin or Indiana to receive the services you now enjoy.
The confusion comes from the fact that both the SBA’s District and Regional Offices are in the same location here in Chicago. Currently that location is 332 South Michigan Avenue.
SCORE, the portion of the SBA that provides counseling and education for Small Business Owners, is also supposedly staying in place. I used to teach accounting and finance courses for SCORE many moons ago.
Let me leave you with this…
The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that the main property tax burden in Chicago is moving from downtown out to the neighborhoods.
The main culprit is vacancies in downtown office buildings. If you own a commercial space in Crook, sorry Cook County, that has remained vacant, you can petition the county for a reduction in your property taxes.
This has led to properties like Water Tower Place reducing its annual tax bill from $16M to $6.8M last year. 401 South State has gone from $3.2M in property taxes annually to $1.8M.
Other situations like the exodus from Downtown Chicago’s residential properties have also added to the drop in tax revenues. As condos are sold for less money, their property valuations go down as well, further reducing tax revenues.
It takes a certain amount of money to run a city like Chicago. Things like police, fire, and other city services don’t come cheap.
And where are the County Property Tax Gods looking to make up the shortfall? You guessed it. They’re coming to our neighborhoods.
Downtown Chicago used to be the most expensive real estate in the nation between the East and West Coasts. Now, given factors like businesses leaving the Loop, remote work, and crime, less residents are willing to live downtown.
Make sure that your property taxes are contested as often as possible. Hire a competent real estate attorney to handle this.
If you don’t, they’ll just come to you for even more of the difference.
We’re all going to get through this. Let’s get through it together.
Accounting Solutions Ltd. stands ready to complete our mission and purpose of protecting you, your family, and your business. Whether you need Payroll Services, or Accounting and Tax Work, you have but to ask. I’m here and I remain,
Sincerely yours,
Chris Amundson
President
Accounting Solutions Ltd.
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