Wisconsin Thinks Illinois Income Tax Hike A Good Thing... For Wisconsin

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 13, 2011 10:14PM

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and other elected officials see lemonade from the lemons of Illinois' income tax hike. Walker, who you'll remember rejected $810 in high-speed rail stimulus funds because he couldn't divert them to highway projects, launched a media campaign in the Chicago area to entice Illinois businesses to move their headquarters to Wisconsin with a promise of two years of tax-free existence.

Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald followed up with an open letter to Illinois businesses that read, "You can stay a Bear fan, our tax breaks don’t discriminate." As for Quinn, he feels confident that Illinois businesses will stay put, despite the 46 percent increase in corporate income taxes, while reminding the press that Milwaukee-based Talgo could be following the rail money Walker didn't want to Illinois.

The Sun-Times notes that, even with the steep increases, personal and corporate state income taxes are still lower in Illinois than Wisconsin.