Pritzker ‘fair tax’ could cost Gurnee families more than $1,500

Gov. J.B. Pritzker claims his progressive income tax hike will only affect the rich. But Illinoisans making as little as $26,100 would see an income tax hike under rates Pritzker cited in his budget address.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is pushing to eliminate Illinois’ flat tax protection in order to pass a progressive income tax hike, which Pritzker has dubbed a “fair” tax. But the typical family in the village of Gurnee could see a tax hike of up to $1,500 a year under rates Pritzker cited in his budget address.

In his Feb. 20 budget address, Pritzker pointed to Iowa and Wisconsin’s progressive income tax rates as models for what Illinois’ rates should look like.

The median Gurnee family with two kids making $105,600 per year would pay $865 more under Wisconsin rates and $1,529 more under Iowa rates – tax hikes of 18 percent and 32 percent, respectively.

Illinoisans making as little as $26,100 (under Wisconsin rates) or $46,500 (under Iowa rates) would see an income tax hike should Illinois lawmakers copy those nearby rate structures.

Keep in mind that in 2017, Illinoisans shouldered the largest permanent income tax hike in state history and Lake County families already pay some of the nation’s highest property taxes.

Pritzker specifically said in his budget address that Illinois “can accomplish” a progressive income tax with “a more competitive rate structure than Wisconsin and Iowa.” But what he means by competition is entirely unclear. In fact, a recent Tax Foundation study on Wisconsin’s tax code recommended exchanging its progressive income tax for a flat income tax as one way to make the state more competitive. Both North Carolina and Kentucky have swapped their states’ progressive income tax for a flat income tax in recent years.

Whether or not state politicians think it’s “fair,” Gurnee families simply cannot afford another tax hike.