Cloud Computing Tax Threatens Chicago’s Silicon Valley Dream
- Mayor wants to boost unusual levy to bridge a budget shortfall
- Lofty Ventures says tax will hurt ‘entire tech community here’
Cloud computing is almost as commonplace as email in most workplaces, becoming an attractive source of revenue for governments.
Photographer: Jamie Kelter Davis/BloombergChicago’s bid to become the Silicon Valley of the Midwest has registered some major wins in recent years: Google bought a huge downtown building, PsiQuantum Corp. announced a $1 billion investment in the city, and local startups raised a record $19 billion in 2022.
Now a move to increase an unusual tax on cloud computing risks adding to a broader technology industry downturn to derail progress in the third-largest US city.