State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, recently revealed a new progressive tax proposal with rates that hit Illinois’ middle and working classes hard. Under current Illinois law, the individual income tax rate will be 3.75 percent in 2015. Under Jakobsson’s new plan, however, a higher 4 percent rate kicks in for people earning just $18,000. That income tax...
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel plans to increase the cigarette tax in Chicago by 75 cents per pack. The tax hike would increase the per-pack total to $7.42 — making Chicago the most expensive city in the nation in which to buy a pack of cigarettes. This tax hike is one of the plans Emanuel is considering to...
The Illinois Supreme Court today struck down the state’s “Amazon Tax,” a state law that forced online retailers to pay Illinois taxes regardless of whether they had a storefront or other physical presence in the state. In its ruling, the Supreme Court indicated that it struck down the law because it conflicts with a federal...
As the Illinois General Assembly heads back to Springfield for veto session next week, here is a quick look at what elected officials have signed on to the Illinois Policy Institute’s legislative efforts to prevent lawmakers from amending the state’s constitution to permit a progressive income tax hike, which would increase taxes on 85 percent...
THE PROBLEM The story of Illinois pensions over the last 20 years is full of reforms that were supposed to put the five state-run government pension systems on sound footing, but failed once they were implemented. Despite repeated attempts at a solution, the state’s official pension debt has jumped to nearly five times what it was in 1995. Taxpayers and...
State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, recently revealed a new progressive tax proposal with rates that hit Illinois’ middle and working classes hard. Under current Illinois law, the individual income tax rate will be 3.75 percent in 2015. Under Jakobsson’s new plan, however, a higher 4 percent rate kicks in for people earning just $18,000. That...
Illinois’ credit rating is in a free fall. Rating agencies have downgraded Illinois 13 times under Gov. Pat Quinn. Most recently, Moody’s Investors Service reduced Illinois’ credit rating to A3 from Aa3 – just four notches above junk status. Even before this downgrade, Illinois already had the worst credit rating in the nation. Illinois’ constant...
A new Tax Foundation report reveals one of the reasons why Illinoisans are finding it so hard to get jobs – it’s getting more and more expensive for businesses to operate in Illinois. The Tax Foundation released today its 2014 State Business Tax Climate Index, confirming the state’s worsening position. Illinois has dropped 15 spots to...
Progressive lawmakers in Illinois continually argue that the state has a revenue problem. They argue that, with a little more cash in the coffers, Illinois could solve its countless fiscal woes. This talking point is part of a larger sales pitch used to advocate for higher taxes in Illinois. But it’s not true. In fact,...
State Rep. Naomi Jakobsson, D-Urbana, penned a press release attempting to mask her agenda for higher taxes in Illinois and sell her progressive tax plan as something it isn’t. When it comes to her peers and opponents, Jakobsson suggests that arguments about a progressive income tax for Illinois need come with coherent policy arguments combined with facts....
According to Bloomberg, at least nine states are currently pitching tax cuts. In addition to the proposed $500 million tax cut by a Gov. Rick Scott in Florida, the tax cut efforts include: Republican governors Scott Walker of Wisconsin, John Kasich of Ohio, Paul LePage of Maine, Terry Branstad of Iowa, Sam Brownback of Kansas...
Several special interest groups and lawmakers in Illinois are pushing to increase taxes by swapping out the state’s constitutionally protected flat rate income tax for a progressive income tax. Advocates for the progressive income tax increase are disguising their plan as a tax cut for middle-and low-income earners. But the legislation that’s been proposed thus...
The problem A common refrain sounded by public sector unions is that government workers have consistently “paid their share” into Illinois’ pension systems and the state has not. However, the facts tell a different story. While government worker contributions to Illinois’ five pension systems have increased by 75 percent since 1998, taxpayer contributions have increased...
The city of Chicago has long been regarded as an economic engine of the Midwest. It is home to some of the country’s largest industries and more than 30 of the nation’s Fortune 500 companies. Chicago is accessible by road, rail and water, and is located in a state that boasts an abundance of natural...