Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s push for his “fair tax” is headed for rejection by Illinois voters. State lawmakers now must face the public pension debt driving the state’s fiscal crisis.
Illinois would have lost an additional 10,577 seniors from 2012 to 2018 if outmigration were as severe as in Connecticut, the last state to enact a progressive income tax.
Progressive income tax proponents put factually inaccurate and misleading claims into a constitutionally required pamphlet intended to inform voters about a proposed amendment.
By granting broad new taxing authority to Springfield, the progressive income tax amendment makes a retirement income tax much more likely – a fact some supporters have acknowledged publicly.
Illinois residents pay more of their income toward state and local taxes than any other state’s residents. A progressive income tax proposal on the ballot in November would raise the state’s total tax burden by $3.7 billion.
Three points stick out in recently released numbers: First, J.B. Pritzker is not a popular governor. Second, pollsters need to get real about the “fair tax” fantasy. And third, pension reform draws a diverse base of support, except at the Statehouse
Illinois Democrats, union members, government or nonprofit workers, and people of all income groups support a pension amendment that allows for changes in cost-of-living raises and other future benefits.
Chicago’s $1.15 billion projected budget gap is the latest in a decades-long string of structural deficits. Making Chicago’s high taxes worse is not the solution.