By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill, Suman Chattopadhyay
03/27/2019
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's inconsistent progressive income tax numbers don't add up, which means he will have to pass middle-class tax hikes to raise what he wants to spend.
By Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill, Suman Chattopadhyay
03/19/2019
While key details behind Pritzker’s tax plan are still under wraps, new information reveals it relies on outlandish assumptions about Illinois’ economic growth.
Facing down a $3 billion deficit, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker offered an unbalanced budget including more tax hikes, borrowing and spending. He claimed severe cuts were the only alternative, but another option exists.
Fitch Ratings has issued a warning about a pension plan pushed by one Illinois think tank, which includes no reform and would harm the state’s credit rating. The response from the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability proves how indefensible the plan really is.
A pension plan pushed by one Illinois think tank fails to reform the state’s broken pension system and risks repeating costly mistakes. Gov.-elect J.B. Pritzker shouldn’t be fooled and should instead endorse meaningful, lasting reform.
According to a new report by Moody’s Investors Service, Illinois’ unfunded pension liabilities equaled 601 percent of state revenues in 2017, a U.S. record.
One year after a record-setting tax hike the state still can’t balance a budget, has done nothing to solve long-term fiscal problems and has further damaged its economic growth.
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.