Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson

Mayor Brandon Johnson unveiled his proposed 2026 budget Tuesday, which includes a new tax on social media companies to fund expanded mental health services in the city.**

The Social Media Amusement & Responsibility Tax (SMART) would impose a fee of 50 cents per active user on large social media platforms with more than 100,000 users in Chicago. The tax is projected to generate $31 million annually, according to the mayor’s budget overview. These funds are earmarked to support free mental health clinics and expand crisis response teams across the city.

Johnson’s budget proposal aims to close the city’s budget gap without increasing property taxes or imposing new fees on most residents. Instead, it targets large corporations, Big Tech firms, and the wealthiest residents to finance essential city services.

The budget includes more than $200 million in cost savings through measures such as hiring freezes, consolidating city-owned real estate, and reducing contracts, while explicitly avoiding layoffs or cuts to public services.

Additionally, the proposal anticipates a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) surplus exceeding $1 billion. This surplus would help support Chicago Public Schools, the Chicago Park District, City Colleges, and other taxing districts that face declining federal funding.

Other corporate tax measures in the budget include a “Yacht Tax,” which aligns boat mooring fees with parking rates, an increase in the vacant building fee, and higher tax rates on Big Tech companies.

To bolster community safety, the budget proposes a $100 million Community Safety Fund, financed by a surcharge on corporations with more than 100 employees. This fund would back youth diversion programs, services for survivors of violence, mental health support for first responders, and violence intervention initiatives.

The budget also increases funding for programs assisting immigrants, LGBTQ+ residents, unhoused individuals, returning citizens, seniors, and families. Investments include rapid rehousing, reentry job training, childcare wage increases, and infrastructure improvements for neighborhoods affected by recent flooding.

Mayor Johnson emphasized that the new social media tax reflects a call for large platforms to contribute to the mental health services that benefit Chicago residents.

The Chicago City Council is expected to vote on the proposed budget later this month.