Buddy, Can You Spare $2,240?

by Kristina Rasmussen As Illinois families dive into back-to-school shopping, smart moms and dads will account for how looming tax hikes will affect their household spending. A combination of the soon-to-expire Bush tax cuts and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s income tax hike plan would take a painful chunk out of the already-stretched family budget. A new report...

by Kristina Rasmussen

As Illinois families dive into back-to-school shopping, smart moms and dads will account for how looming tax hikes will affect their household spending.

A combination of the soon-to-expire Bush tax cuts and Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s income tax hike plan would take a painful chunk out of the already-stretched family budget.

A new report from the nonpartisan Tax Foundation found that the expiration of the Bush tax cuts at the end of 2010 would cost the average middle-income Illinois family earning $68,958 some $1,640 in higher taxes in 2011.

Meanwhile, Governor Quinn’s plan to hike the state income tax rate by 33 percent would take an additional $600 away from that same family.

Do you have an extra $2,240 lying around to give to government—on top of all of the taxes you’re already paying? If not, now would be a good time to let your elected officials know what you think of these destructive money grabs.