Illinois Chamber of Commerce statement on the House passage of graduated income tax amendment legislation

 

[May 28, 2019] 

"The graduated income tax is a very bad idea, proposed at the wrong time," said Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Maisch. "It sends the message to job creators that the General Assembly believes there will never be enough revenue to meet their appetite for spending.

"Our current flat tax provided $1.5 billion more than internally projected for April 2019. These revenues show that it is not the tax structure, but the spending structure that is the problem.
 

"Additionally, little notice has been given to the fact that the amendment also repeals a critical taxpayer protection: the constitutional ban of more than a single tax on income. Future general assemblies will be allowed to tax the same dollar of income over and over.

"Other states' experiences clearly show a graduated income tax will unfairly target small businesses and, over time, more and more of the middle class. Unfortunately, with this vote, the General Assembly is sending yet another clear signal that Illinois is not open for business."

[Whitney Barnes]