Pritzker ‘fair tax’ could hike taxes on typical Rock Island County family by up to $325

While progressive tax proponents champion the measure as a “tax on the rich,” middle-income families in Rock Island County could see a tax hike under the income tax models praised by Illinois Gov. Pritzker.

A proposed overhaul of Illinois’ flat income tax could mean a solid tax hike for the typical family in Rock Island County.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker wants to scrap the state’s constitutionally protected flat tax in favor of a graduated, or “fair,” tax structure. What would that system look like? In his Feb. 20 budget address, Pritzker pointed to Iowa and Wisconsin’s tiered income tax rates as models for Illinois. While Pritzker has framed this system as a “tax on the rich,” middle-income Rock Island County families would get hit with tax hikes under both models.

The state income tax would increase by $325 on the median Rock Island County family with two children earning $64,696 if Illinois adopted Wisconsin’s rates. The hike would be $251 if Illinois adopted Iowa’s rates. That family isn’t rich by Rock Island County standards, they are in the middle and could see a state tax increase of 12 percent or 9 percent under the systems Pritzker admires.

Rock Island County residents could see large increases after Illinois’ leaders decide what taxation is “fair.” In 2017 those leaders decided it would be fair for all Illinoisans to shoulder the largest permanent income tax hike in state history, which came after they in 2011 decided it would be fair to impose a record income tax hike.

Pritzker said in his budget address that Illinois “can accomplish” a progressive income tax with “a more competitive rate structure than Wisconsin and Iowa.” But his meaning is unclear: A recent Tax Foundation study recommended that Wisconsin make its tax code more competitive by replacing its progressive income tax structure with a flat tax. Both North Carolina and Kentucky have swapped their states’ progressive income taxes for a flat tax in recent years. Connecticut is the only state in the past 30 years to add a progressive tax and it seriously damaged their middle class, job market and poverty rates.

State lawmakers should check the dictionary before imposing their own definition of “fair” on Rock Island County families. They also should grab a calculator.