Pick a Tax Hike and Stick With It

by Kristina Rasmussen The group Americans for Tax Reform takes Governor Pat Quinn to task for his constantly-shifting tax hike plans: Today Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform, called on Gov. Pat Quinn to be up front and honest about the true size of the income tax hike he has planned for Illinois families and job...

by Kristina Rasmussen

The group Americans for Tax Reform takes Governor Pat Quinn to task for his constantly-shifting tax hike plans:

Today Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform, called on Gov. Pat Quinn to be up front and honest about the true size of the income tax hike he has planned for Illinois families and job providers. In a letter to the governor, Norquist cited Quinn’s four separate calls for an income tax increase, each specific plan different than its predecessor.

Quinn’s different proposals, from Norquist’s letter:

May of 2009: 50 percent income tax increase. This proposal would have increased the income tax rate from 3 percent to 4.5 percent and taken roughly $4 billion from the private economy near the peak of Illinois’ recession. It failed in the legislature, largely because of voter disapproval by a 30 point margin.

March of 2010: 33 percent income tax increase.  Believing it was the size of his previous plan that turned off constituents, Gov. Quinn presented a scaled-down income tax hike that would have increased the rate to 4 percent, a $3 billion tax increase. This also went nowhere.

July 2010: “secret” 67 percent income tax increase. Quinn’s plan to wait until after the election to impose this whopping $6 billion tax hike was clever until it was revealed in an interview with his budget director David Vaught: “We’re going to pass a tax increase in January,” he said. “We expect it is going to be very substantial.” Taxpayers appreciate his candor much more than the governor’s subsequent scurried attempt to reject his assertion.

August 2010: 33 percent income tax increase. Last week Quinn returned to his previous call to increase the rate to 4 percent, calling it “a pretty good bargain for taxpayers.”

Norquist continued:

“Your constant shape-shifting on this issue is confusing to voters. We would appreciate it if you could stick to one flawed income tax proposal, rather than constantly changing your mind. Taxpayers deserve to know precisely how much of their money you seek to extract from their wallets, as well as the number of jobs you wish to force out of state.”