The progressive tax’s structure fails to account for inflation and includes a marriage penalty for 4 million Illinoisans. It is designed to creep farther into taxpayers’ wallets.

Illinois politicians are already talking about taxing retirees, adding “surcharges” and city income taxes if they can convince voters to abandon the Illinois Constitution’s flat tax protection and give lawmakers greater taxing power.

A progressive income tax would force nearly all joint filers in Illinois to pay higher income taxes than they would as single filers. Meanwhile, some wealthy couples would save thousands in state income taxes.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is calling his $3.4 billion tax hike “fair,” but his plan comes with a hefty penalty for some Illinoisans who choose to tie the knot.