“Vote for fairness. Vote for a graduated income tax in Illinois on Nov. 3”

A new editorial in the Chicago Sun-Times—Pity the struggling billionaire who fears a graduated income tax for Illinois—explains how the Fair Tax will help set things right in Illinois and calls out wealthy opponents for “promoting a falsehood” to protect their own bottom line and the special deal they get under our current tax system.

“An extra dollar in the pocket of a multi-millionaire—or, in the case of Griffin, a multi-billionaire—doesn’t matter as much as the same dollar in the pocket of a working-class person,” the editorial board wrote.

Our current tax system in Illinois is unfair because it taxes those millionaires and billionaires at the same rate as nurses, janitors and social workers. As the editorial concludes, “Vote for fairness. Vote for a graduated income tax in Illinois on Nov. 3.”

Here are the key points of the Sept. 9 Chicago Sun-Times Editorial:

• Now Griffin is making another investment, recently giving $20 million to a business group that aims to defeat Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s graduated income-tax proposal come Nov. 3.

• We say investment, rather than contribution, because if Griffin succeeds his personal bottom line will benefit tremendously.

• Griffin followed up his investment in the Coalition to Stop the Proposed Tax Hike Amendment — which undoubtedly will plaster the airwaves with ads against Pritzker’s proposal — with a Chicago Tribune op-ed last week promoting the falsehood that the governor is engineering “a graduated tax scheme engineered to extract the greatest amount of money possible from Illinois taxpayers.” But Griffin is not being honest about Pritzker’s proposal, nor is he devoid of self-interest.

• Progressive taxation isn’t an outlier. It’s the norm.

• Illinois was a moderate tax state at the time Griffin helped elevate Bruce Rauner into the governor’s mansion with millions of dollars in contributions. Rauner happened to have millions himself, too.

• Rauner then effectively held state government hostage for two years while trying to further lower state income tax rates that already had dropped from 5% to 3.75%. Members of Rauner’s own Republican Party broke with him, but Griffin didn’t. He rewarded Rauner with millions more in campaign contributions to seek re-election.

• Thankfully, Pritzker beat Rauner. But Rauner’s four years in office left our state in a world of hurt just in time for COVID-19.

• We’ve said this before, and we’ll say it again: An extra dollar in the pocket of a multimillionaire — or, in the case of Griffin, a multi-billionaire — doesn’t matter as much as the same dollar in the pocket of a working-class person. Yet right now in Illinois, every dollar is taxed at the same rate no matter how rich or poor you are.

• To our thinking, nothing makes a better argument for voting to move our state to a graduated income tax.

• Pritzker says that, under his proposal, 97% of Illinoisans would pay the same or less in taxes, while 3% would pay more.

• Amid the pandemic and the recession, does anyone really question whether the state needs this? Does anyone really believe the state government can cut its way to breaking even? Not a chance.

• Where, then, should the money come from?

• Should it come from the gardener in Lake Forest, the farmers in Galena or the small business owners in Libertyville? Should it come from the 20-somethings in Illinois trying to stake out their fortunes just like Ken Griffin did some 30 years ago?

• Or should it come from the 3% of taxpayers fortunate enough to be able to pay their fair share at this challenging time? The answer is obvious.

• Vote for fairness. Vote for a graduated income tax in Illinois on Nov. 3.

Read the complete article here.

The aforementioned information is from AFSCME 31


Commentary:

The wealthiest people should pay tax rates commensurate with their incomes, but they do not in Illinois. The state’s flat tax preserves the fortunes of the wealthy at the expense and victimization of everyone else. This is immoral and unjust.

In Illinois, the wealthiest taxpayers do not pay as much of their incomes in taxes as the poorest and middle-income wage earners. “Since the rich are able to save a much larger share of their incomes than middle-income families – and since the poor [can] rarely save at all – [flat] taxes are inherently regressive” (The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, ITEP).

Illinois is among 10 states in the nation with the highest taxes paid by its poorest citizens at 13 percent (ITEP). According to United for a Fair Economy, “at the core of the continuing budget ‘crisis’ facing [Illinois] is the decades-old state tax structure, one that disproportionately impacts low-income people because, unlike the wealthy, [low-income people] are forced to spend a majority of their income purchasing basic needs that are subject to sales taxes.”

The State of Illinois needs a fair tax rate that is “efficient with minimal impact on the economic decisions that taxpayers have to make” (Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, CTBA), one that captures increased revenues in times of economic growth, one that maintains revenue collections during poor economic times, one that is simple and not liable to inconspicuous error, one that is transparent and builds trust with the state’s government officials (CTBA), and one that helps 99 percent of the state’s population. A fair tax rate is moral and just. 

-Glen Brown