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It\u2019s about to become slightly more expensive to stream television and music in Skokie.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Skokie Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Monday to raise the village\u2019s Amusement Tax and expand its scope to apply to any \u201cvideo streaming, audio streaming, or remotely accessed online games\u201d that residents use on a rental or subscription basis, village documents show.<\/p>\n
The trustees more than doubled the tax, from 2% to 5%, meaning a Skokie resident paying $19.99 for a standard Netflix plan will now have to pay an additional $1. Streaming services will collect the tax from residents and pay it to the village starting on Sept. 1, according to village documents<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The previous version of Skokie\u2019s Amusement Tax only applied to the tickets residents pay to attend events like concerts, movies, guest lectures and circus acts. Finance Director Julian Prendi estimated the hike will bring Skokie $1.01 million in additional annual revenue.\u00a0<\/p>\n As d<\/em> previously reported<\/strong><\/a>, village staff identified two \u201cstrategic enhancements\u201d they wanted to fund after drafting Skokie\u2019s fiscal year 2027 budget: acquiring a new ambulance for the firedDepartment\u2019s fleet and improving the village\u2019s development services.\u00a0<\/p>\n The budget report<\/strong><\/a> showed that emergency medical service incidents in Skokie have increased by about 10% over the past five years, and Village Manager John Lockerby said in April that calls for emergency services frequently peak and overlap between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays.\u00a0<\/p>\n In order to \u201cmaintain service levels and adequate response capacity,\u201d the fire department reportedly recommended the village add a fourth ambulance to its fleet at a cost of approximately $718,000 \u2014 $493,000 to acquire and $225,000 to operate via overtime hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n Consultants from the Matrix Consulting Group also reviewed Skokie\u2019s development services<\/strong><\/a> and recommended the village streamline and enhance various processes, Lockerby said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The improvements include additional staffing, technology investments to support enhanced code compliance efforts, more efficient building inspections and streamlined permitting processes, said Patrick Deignan, Skokie\u2019s communications manager in an email to The Record<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The improvements to the development services will cost Skokie an additional $300,000 to $350,000 a year, Lockerby estimated. <\/p>\n Both the ambulance and the improved development services will apparently be funded by revenue from the increased Amusement Tax.<\/p>\n Stew Weiss, a member of Skokie\u2019s corporation counsel, said on Monday that the pivot to include streaming services is the \u201claw \u2026 catching up with economic reality.\u201d<\/p>\n Skokie\u2019s 5% entertainment tax will still be lower than the average entertainment tax rate of 5.38% for area municipalities, a number of which already tax streaming services, aid Prendi during the village\u2019s budget hearings. Chicago taxes streaming services 10.25%, a city webpage <\/strong><\/a>shows.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mayor Ann Tennes emphasized on Monday that the tax increase \u201cis not regressive\u201d as residents can choose to buy tickets to theatrical performances or streaming subscriptions.\u00a0<\/p>\n The North Shore Center for the Performing Arts, which the village owns, will also have to pay the tax and remit funds to the village, Tennes noted.<\/p>\n The Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom that relies on reader support to fuel its independent local journalism.<\/em><\/p>\n
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