|
 More than a week after claiming his income tax proposal would
raise $3.4 billion in new revenue, Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office now claims it
can’t find the math used to calculate that number.
This doesn’t inspire confidence in the governor’s plan for a graduated income
tax, which would require eliminating one of Illinois’ “few saving graces” for
taxpayers: a constitutionally protected flat income tax.
Pritzker’s office on March 15 requested a five-day extension to respond to the
Illinois Policy Institute’s Freedom of Information Act request seeking the
methodology behind his $3.4 billion revenue estimate. The Institute filed the
request March 7, the same day Pritzker announced his proposed income tax rates.
The governor’s office requested the extension “pursuant to 5 ILCS 140/3(e)(iv).”
That section of statute reads, “the requested records have not been located in
the course of routine search and additional efforts are being made to locate
them.”
[to top of second column] |
The governor’s math doesn’t add up – with a simple
“static” estimate showing the proposal would bring in nearly $1
billion less than Pritzker claims. But Pritzker’s office has so far
refused this basic transparency measure on a multibillion-dollar tax
hike. The Governor’s Office of Management and Budget also issued a
request for a five-day extension, citing other FOIA provisions. The
Department of
Neither the Civic Federation nor the Institute has
been able to replicate Pritzker’s claim of $3.4 billion in new
revenue from his proposal, which is a concern for Illinoisans
worried that they can’t trust state lawmakers to set new, “fair”
income tax rates under the governor’s proposed constitutional
amendment.
Indeed, the governor has already signaled wiggle room on his
proposed rates, further making the case that a constitutional
amendment to remove the flat income tax protection would be a bridge
to higher taxes for the middle class.
UPDATE: After this story was published, Pritzker’s office sent
details regarding their revenue estimate assumptions to Springfield
political blog Capitol Fax.
Click here to respond to the editor about this article |
