Tuesday, April 20, 2010
 
sponsored by

GOP candidate Bill Brady says no to new taxes

Send a link to a friend

[April 20, 2010]  SPRINGFIELD -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Brady used the nation's Tax Day to speak out against the income tax increase being pushed by his Democratic opponent, Gov. Pat Quinn.

HardwareQuinn has called for a 1 percentage point increase in the state's income tax -- from 3 percent to 4 percent -- to eliminate the need for $1.3 billion in cuts to education, from kindergarten to the university level.

The governor refers to the tax increase as an education "surcharge," but Republicans have refused to accept the bureaucratic name and claim the tax increase would stifle economic growth.

"His 33 percent increase would come at the cost of private-sector business investment in Illinois," Brady said.

Water

But Quinn has said the surcharge is necessary for the state to continue providing quality education, although lawmakers so far have resisted the idea. Nearly $1 billion in federal stimulus money helped to plug this year's education budget, but no such federal dollars exist for the coming school year.

"Ultimately we're going to have to deal with a 1 percent surcharge for education," Quinn said. "I anticipate that will happen, and we want to make sure that we do not turn our backs on the students of Illinois or their parents."

Brady disagrees with a tax hike and instead points to his plan to cut state agency spending by 10 percent across the board.

However, former GOP Gov. Jim Edgar last week called Brady's budget plan "simplistic," after previously calling it "naive." Edgar has said the state must cut spending and then increase taxes. A disastrous fiscal situation in the early 1990s forced the Republican governor to make drastic cuts and make permanent a temporary income tax increase.

[to top of second column]

But Brady sidestepped questions about Edgar's comments.

"People I talk to throughout Illinois are looking for a governor who's got the courage to balance the budget without raising taxes. People get it," Brady said. "They're sick and tired of a bloated government -- a government that has not learned to live within its means, a government that hasn't been managed. A 10 percent across the board is simply 1 percent per year of what we've done over the last 10 years."

And he steadfastly stuck with his "10 percent across the board" strategy.

"If you want to do what Gov. Quinn does -- and that's just kicking the can down the road without examining the entire state spending, without looking at it -- you run into a problem," he said. "But if you're willing to focus and you're willing to start from ground zero and you're willing to examine every dollar you spend, I firmly believe we can save 10 percent."

During the coming weeks lawmakers will continue to wrangle over the upcoming budget for the year set to begin July 1.

[Illinois Statehouse News; By JENNIFER WESSNER]

< Top Stories index

Back to top


 

News | Sports | Business | Rural Review | Teaching and Learning | Home and Family | Tourism | Obituaries

Community | Perspectives | Law and Courts | Leisure Time | Spiritual Life | Health and Fitness | Teen Scene
Calendar | Letters to the Editor