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Creates an affordable, comprehensive
insurance plan that anyone without employer-sponsored health
insurance in Illinois can purchase. This statewide pool of
coverage will offer Illinoisans lower and stable rates.
Small-business owners can also purchase this product to cover
their employees.
Illinois Covered
Rebate: Lowers premiums for moderate- to
middle-income Illinoisans ($20,000-$80,000 for a family of four)
to help them afford their health insurance. The rebate will vary
based on income, and those with lower incomes would get a larger
rebate.
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Illinois Covered
Assist: In a plan similar to FamilyCare and Medicaid,
individuals or couples who are very low-income (individuals
currently making less than $10,210 annually and couples making
less than $13,690) will now have access to full coverage through
the state.
Also included in the governor's budget proposal is the Helping
Kids Learn plan, which continues the governor's commitment to
schools by boosting funding by an unprecedented $1.5 billion in
fiscal 2008. Under the plan, general state aid to schools will
increase by more than $800 million, raising the foundation level by
$724, to $6,058. With more funds per pupil, schools can improve
textbook quality, modernize their technology or invest in teachers.
The plan also will increase funds to hire special education teachers
and fully fund "mandated categorical" programs like special
education and transportation. The plan will accelerate
implementation of Preschool for All and dedicate additional
resources for school districts that provide full-day kindergarten.
Underperforming school districts will get extra funds if they invest
in proven strategies that raise student achievement. And the plan
will invest in a capital construction plan to replace or rebuild
deteriorating schools.
The governor proposed a major reform of Illinois' corporate tax
system in order to provide sustainable funding for education and
health care. In Illinois, the share of state revenues coming from
individual income taxes instead of corporate income taxes has
consistently increased during each of the last three decades. To
reverse that trend, Blagojevich unveiled a Tax Fairness Plan
in his budget address earlier this year.
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 Many large corporations pay little or nothing in corporate income
taxes, and they are not paying their fair share to meet the state's
ongoing infrastructure, education, health care and public safety
needs. Blagojevich's plan takes historic steps to change the
Illinois tax structure -- one of the most regressive and unfair to
working families in the nation. According to the Illinois Department
of Revenue, 37 of the 99 Fortune 100 companies that filed taxes in
Illinois paid no state income taxes, despite the fact that they
averaged $1.2 billion in sales during 2004. On average, 48 percent
of corporations that generated $50 million or more in annual sales
in Illinois paid no income taxes from 1997 through 2004.
The governor's Tax Fairness Plan implements a gross receipts tax,
which has been embraced by many economists because of its broad base
and low rates. States including Washington, Delaware and Hawaii have
had this for years, and Ohio and Texas have recently adopted a form
of the tax. The GRT will apply only to businesses that make more
than $2 million each year, which means 85 percent of all businesses
in Illinois will be exempt. The GRT will tax service industries at a
low 1.95 percent rate, while manufacturers, construction, retail and
wholesale companies will be taxed at an even lower 0.85 percent.
Exports will not be taxed. The plan also mitigates costs being
passed on to consumers by excluding certain goods, such as retail
food and pharmaceuticals.
Under the governor's plan, large corporations that pay little or
no state taxes now -- many of which can afford luxuries like
multimillion-dollar bonuses for top executives, private jet service
and huge entertainment budgets -- will finally pay their fair share
so children can get a better education, homeowners can enjoy
property tax relief and small-business owners can afford health
coverage.
[Text from file received from
the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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