That's nothing to be honest. Here in Norway we pay a 25% sales tax on nearly everything, except food, where it is 12%, and transport and cultural stuff(live, like cinema, plays at theaters, concerts, whatever) which has an 8% tax.

People are just whining because they're used to not having to pay taxes on a lot of stuff. Welcome to the real world, Chicago!

Well then welcome to everyone elses hell o/ 9% isn't too bad as long as they don't get greedy for more once they see just how huge 9% of that kinda revenue can be.

We pay 18% here. I didn't know other countries paid more.  I've always found it a lil funny that us citizens complain about 7-10%.

Americans are frankly spoiled by era of low taxes. We want all sorts of services, but not to pay for them. No wonder we have deficits all the time. We all should have figured online services would be aligned with other products and services. I see nothing wrong with this, although I would figure 6%, but urban areas tend to have higher taxes.

No, what I'm saying is, this is a city adding 9% because they need some money.  What if the county wants to get into the act?  What if the state wants a piece of the pie?  That's why this is a concern.

It's also why we will probably see some legal action against Chicago with an important precedent on the line.

Also, simply comparing consumer tax rates between countries and regions isn't very effective, not unless you're going to compare a ton of other factors, as well.

Yea, but we already pay tax through our internet service providers.  I don't believe a streaming or gaming service should be taxed.  I suppose they want to make up with loss tax from movie theaters in the upcoming years.  I already avoiding going to movies due to the high price and the recent attacks might start detering other people.

Wow, never heard of taxes on stuff like that. Guess we better tighten up our wallets, I suspect more states/cities will follow this.

That's the primary reason we tend to continue to receive comparatively low prices on most things in the consumer market. The VAT tax is a tax on every step of production, and those costs tend to add up.

Florida is crazy as heck but I certainly prefer the taxes here to the northern states. Don't even have a state income tax.

Difference of opinion. We need to make cuts or add taxes, something has to give.

I started going less because ticket prices became insane. Now wait for $5 Wednesday or $2 second run cinema. $12 is simply absurd to watch a film.

I'm generally opposed to sales taxes of any form, as they, by their very nature, disproportionately affect the poor and lowers the rate of consumption (which consequently lowers the multiplier effect of fiscal stimulus, etc.)

While I am sure the Democrats in Chicago will defend themselves by saying that these things are just entertainment and not a necessity, I still think it's a bad idea.