By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – The numbers Illinois has been waiting for since the gubernatorial campaign are here.
Gov. JB Pritzker Thursday unveiled his proposed rates for a graduated income tax, emphasizing that 97 percent of Illinoisans — everyone making $250,000 or less — will see their income tax stay the same or go down.
He’s hoping to raise $3.4 billion.
“I don’t know anyone in Illinois who thinks we can continue to just whistle past the graveyard and ignore the fiscal challenges that we face,” Pritzker told reporters in his Capitol office. “And no one thinks that the right answer is to replay the last four years of gridlock and dysfunction.”
Illinois Chamber of Commerce president Todd Maisch reacts with some suggestions.
“People want to see that we’ve actually got spending under control. They want to see you’ve got some things that will go ahead and spur growth. Instead you’ve got a $15 minimum wage. And now you’ve got a graduated income tax. That doesn’t say economic growth to me,” Maisch said.”
“And then you will have a certain set of responsible conservatives who will say, we can go ahead and talk about revenues once you take care of those first two things.”
The graduated income tax must be a Constitutional amendment, which means each chamber of the legislature, and then a statewide vote in 2020, must approve by a three-fifths majority.
From the governor’s office:
• Filers at or below $250,000 – 97% of taxpayers – will have lower tax bill
• 20% increase in current Property Tax Credit from approx. $500 million (@ 5.0%)to $600 million (@ 6.0%)
• Top rate of 7.95% for net income over $1.0 million
• Once income reaches $1.0 million, entire income is taxed at 7.95% rate
• Corporate Income Tax rate to match top Fair Income Tax rate (7.95%)
• $100 per child Child Tax Credit for: • Single filers under $80K (phase-out starting @ $40K)
• Joint filers under $100K (phase-out starting @ $60K)
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]
