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With Illinois suffering from national economic woes, statewide economic stimulus plans are floating around in both houses of the General Assembly. In the House, some Democrats are pushing a legislative effort to double the income tax to six percent on residents earing more than $250,000 a year. The increase is expected to generate around $3 billion annually, and would fund schools and income-tax relief for lower- and middle-income families. Separately, senate Democrats, along with some representatives, are pushing an amendment to the state constitution that would eliminate the flat tax, implementing instead a graduated income tax, putting Illinois in line with both the federal government and most other states.
Senate Republicans are pushing their own tax reform measure as well. They want to lower the gas tax, and eliminate the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, freeing up billions of dollars in delayed hospital construction. “We're for abolishing the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board to do about $3 billion worth of projects and put 8,000 people to work,” GOP Sen. Kirk Dillard told the Tribune. “And that's just on top of the corruption problems that want to lead us to abolish that board, which is the central focus of the Tony Rezko trial going on in Chicago.”
It's too soon to say which plan (if any) will make it out of the General Assembly, but changing the overall tax structure is no easy feat. It would require a three-fifths margin in both the House and Senate, and would have to be voted on in a statewide referendum. Meanwhile, a proposal by Sen. James Meeks of Chicago to raise the individual income tax to five percent and the corporate income tax to eight percent is still under consideration. It has passed committee and is awaiting a senate vote.
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this would be pretty cool since i felt so screwed doing my taxes this year, but i won't hold my breath...too bad IL can't be like TX and have no income tax and reasonable sales/local taxes.
Houston's lovely................
Tax the rich more? No, really? I wonder which brainiac in the GA thought of that one? It's like the state is run like the Lord of the Flies. "His name's not Fatty. It's Blago."
Let's see. We need people to spend money. That helps our economy, thus helping individuals and families, especially those barely making ends meet.
OK, now who spends more money? Someone earning $250,000 per year or someone earning $50,000 per year?
Next point. Which of the above persons should we encourage to leave Illinois. Both? The first one? The second one? Neither.
The answer is that you certainly don't want to push anyone, especially big spenders, out of the state. That is dumb. Yet Democrats keep trying to do that.
Let's keep both of the above persons in our state. Let's cut state spending and cut state taxes for both of them. Oh, wait, liberals think two steps ahead. All they know is "tax the rich."
the people who earn the most spend the smallest portion of their income.
A person who makes $50k probably spends almost 100% of that.
Someone who makes $250k is more likely to have savings, perhaps substantial savings, and is not spending.
Therefore, they need to be taxed more heavily. They are failing to pay their fair share for the operations of state government. They obtain far greater benefit from the state, and should pay more for those benefits.
Tax the rich. give the middle class a freaking break for once.
I don't want a right-wing nutball conservative state government, but reading shit like this makes me wish things weren't so slanted to one side. It would be nice to have a few more Republicans - just a few, not too many - to make things fall a little more to the center.
"Tax the rich. give the middle class a freaking break for once."
You can always spot someone making a self-righteous, emotionally-based declaration that's made without any rational thought.
Suppose you give the middle class that "freaking break"? What happens when some of that middle class use that "freaking break" to make more money, and it puts them into a higher income tax level? Do they even see that money, or is it just taxed? Every citizen should be taxed at the same rate by the government. The same percentage should apply to EVERYBODY.
THERE HAS NEVER BEEN ANY KINGDOM, COUNTRY, STATE, CITY OR COUNTY WHOSE CITIZENS HAVE SUCCESSFULLY TAXED THEMSELVES INTO PROSPERITY.
toyota
how does someone making 250K get more benefits from the state than others? Im not a rich man but the people not paying there fair share are the ones getting all the benefits.
Regarding those making $250,000 per year, an above commenter writes "...They are failing to pay their fair share for the operations of state government..."
Absurd.
Up is down and down is up.
To those of you on the fence about this, please think about what increasing taxes does to the well being of everyone, especially the well-being of the working poor and the middle class. When an over-taxed ecomony is sluggish, THEY are the ones who are hurt the most.
In this city, $250K is middle class... Just ask Michelle Obama.
All this means for me though is that it will be harder for me to make 250k.
And I have the potential to do so.
@Jaws of Josh - There are 51 Republican State Reps (compared to 67 Democrats).
I agree with you that everyone should be taxed at the same rate. I think they should institute a base line (some point in relation to the poverty level) and flat tax all income above that line. No deductions, no exemptions, no ways around it. Plus, it would make the forms simple.
"To those of you on the fence about this, please think about what increasing taxes does to the well being of everyone, especially the well-being of the working poor and the middle class. When an over-taxed ecomony is sluggish, THEY are the ones who are hurt the most."
OK, here is what I am curious about: Imagine, for a moment, the idea of taxation in general. Forget that we live in Illinois or Cook County or Chicago. Leave aside your ideological positions. Now, what is the solution when costs for various government services--transportation, defense, entitlments that a majority of Americans over the past four to six decades have clearly indicted they want--continue to rise because of higher material and labor prices?
Do you support increasing tax rates in that instance? Why or why not?