Illinois Lawmakers Re-Think Corporate Tax Hike

By Soyoung Kwak in News on Jun 25, 2011 4:00PM

Remember that corporate tax hike and the hullabaloo that ensued? Well, things are still a bit up in the air, as Illinois lawmakers are re-thinking their original plan for the statewide corporate tax hike.

As Fox News put it, Illinois lawmakers want to hold hearings to "consider changing a whole range of taxes businesses pay." Although we are not entirely sure what this could consist of, we are fairly certain that not all businesses are alike, and that this could cause some beef between top corporations and influential businesses.

Lawmakers hear arguments from businesses, as well as from business-related groups, such as the Illinois Chamber of Commerce:

Their announcement comes in the wake of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Chicago Board of Trade, Sears Holdings and Peoria-based Caterpillar Inc. complaining that business climates in other states made moving jobs out of Illinois an option. They started sounding the warning bells when Gov. Pat Quinn, Madigan and Cullerton pushed personal and business tax increases into law with Democrat-only support in January.

"I see this as a timely opportunity for critics and advocates alike to participate in the process and offer their views on what the state's business policies should be," Madigan said in a statement.

There are no set dates for the proposed hearings, so we don't know how soon they will be held. Moreover, it is difficult to assess how influential these meetings will be, depending on the push and pull not only between businesses, but also between the businesses and lawmakers. Let's hope that these meetings will bring about some peace to the discontent that has been brewing about regarding the major tax hike.