quote:

Originally posted by Jim Shugart:
This is like folks fleeing the bubonic plague in the middle ages. They weren't escaping it; they were spreading it.

This is perhaps the best analogy I have heard to date for the spread of libtardism in our country. I will be injecting it into polite (and impolite) conversation.

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
sadly as the rich and powerful leave Ill., they'll move to red States and bring their Lefty voting habits with them...

Not me. Politically, I'm far right of Ronald Reagan, and in fact didn't vote for his second term because he turned weak on the Second Amendment after he got shot.

I'll always be far-right, no matter where I live.

Gov. Pritzker's $3.4 billion tax hike: How to fan the 'Illinois Exodus'



Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, flanked by deputy governors David Harris, from left, Christian Mitchell and Dan Hynes, unveils his graduated income tax plan during a news conference in the governor's office at the Illinois State Capitol on March 7, 2019, in Springfield.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Thursday unveiled details of his promised push for a graduated income tax. He campaigned on the issue. He delivered.

So how much will taxes increase under a rate structure Pritzker proposed? You might want to cover your eyes. About $3.4 billion annually, by his calculation.

That extraction of dollars from taxpayers’ pockets would be in addition to roughly $5 billion raised annually in new revenue under the 2017 income tax hike. That legislation lifted the individual rate to 4.95 percent. Lawmakers — including some Republicans — approved it over former Gov. Bruce Rauner’s veto. Don’t confuse any of that with the more than $30 billion raised during four years of the 2011 income tax hike, which increased the individual rate from 3 percent to 5 percent for four years, then dropped it to 3.75 percent.

How did Springfield’s collection of all that new money work out for state government and taxpayers? Here’s how: Illinois remains deeply in debt, continues to borrow to pay bills, faces an insurmountable unfunded pension liability and is losing taxpayers who are fed up with paying more. The flight of Illinoisans to other states is intensifying with 2018’s loss of 45,116 net residents, the worst of five years of consistent, dropping population. And the ceaseless maneuvering to raises taxes has only aggravated Illinois’ national and global reputation as a state whose anti-employer attitude creates unpredictable costs for businesses.

Tax policy drives behavior. It’s why states with low or no income taxes are thriving. Illinois needs to be adding more taxpayers and businesses, not subtracting them. When politicians raise taxes, they aren’t adding. A switch to a graduated tax would eliminate one of Illinois’ only fishing lures to attract taxpayers and jobs: its constitutionally protected flat income tax.

Rates under Pritzker’s plan would jump to nearly 8 percent for anyone earning more than $250,000 per year. For filers who report income of more than $1 million annually, the 7.95 percent rate would not be marginalized; meaning, it would be applied to every dollar, not just income of more than $1 million. Line up the Allied moving vans for business owners and other high-income families who’ve had a bellyful of one of America’s highest state and local tax burdens: exorbitant property taxes, plus high sales taxes, plus fast-rising income taxes.

Pritzker’s only pro-growth selling point Thursday for moving to a graduated structure is that it would bring stability to Illinois’ roller-coaster budget environment. That’s what he said. But it would not bring stability. Unlocking the state constitution to permit graduated rates would allow lawmakers to tinker with tax rates into perpetuity. After a moment of stability — that is, a quick honeymoon for taxpayers at the rates he now proposes — which direction do you think your income tax rate would head?

Pritzker’s proposal, like each tax hike before it, was introduced with no meaningful reform on the spending side of the ledger. This is all about collecting more money. No changes to pensions through — our recommendation — a loosening of the pension clause of the constitution. No spending cuts throughout state government. No reductions in employee head count, or Medicaid reform. Just another dive into taxpayers’ pockets.

In fact, the tax hike would come amid promises of spending new billions, as Pritzker advocates, for local schools, higher education, social programs and wages for the state’s unionized workforce. Grab your wallet for that upcoming contract, which Team Pritzker will negotiate. The unions already are behind the graduated income tax because they want gobs of new revenue for their wage increases.

The lesson in Illinois government is quite clear. Tax hikes come fast and furious, and they’re never enough. The money raised is never, ever enough.

And the dramatic spending reforms that could offset new tax grabs? Sorry, this is Illinois.

Residents get it. They will continue protesting with their feet.

https://www.chicagotribune.com...-20190307-story.html

I remember seeing his campaign commercials about having a responsible government in Illinois. Democrats...………...what a load of crap.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Shugart:
This is like folks fleeing the bubonic plague in the middle ages. They weren't escaping it; they were spreading it.

I agree that this is a great analogy! While many people are fleeing states like Illinois, California, New York, etc. too many are infecting the states they flee to with the same diseased mentality they fled from examples such as Colorado and Texas for example are now becoming victims.

quote:

What people in Illinois fail to understand is that this kind of income tax increase will further force more high productive workers and small businesses to flee the state

This.

The liberal mentality is that if there are x number of millionaire households, they can raise taxes by y percent, and VOILA!, they will see billions in new revenue. They never understand that many of those wealthy households will just pack up and leave.

IIRC, Maryland tried this a few years ago and state officials were stunned by how many millionaires simply moved out of the state.

^^ Yep...
They never understand that many of those wealthy households will just pack up and leave.

quote:

Line up the Allied moving vans for business owners and other high-income families who’ve had a bellyful of one of America’s highest state and local tax burdens: exorbitant property taxes, plus high sales taxes, plus fast-rising income taxes.

I cannot imagine a more ill-conceived plan to deal with IL's fiscal woes.

Nearly doubling the state income tax to 8%on filers making more than $250k. On top of the near 10% sales tax and one of the highest property tax rates in the nation.

Plus no plan to deal with the spending side of the equation.

This is not going to end well for Illinois.

So glad I am no longer ChicagoSigMan.

The irony is this will affect those with the least retirement assets the most. Really f'ing morons running things there. Those who have enough assets to have a second home could easily solve this issue by claiming residence somewhere else. My grandparents retired to FL for more than just the weather.

THE biggest scam even bigger than the Global Warming Hoax is how Liberals convince their voters that PAYING MORE tax is a good thing.
The lie is that THEY don't have to pay SOMEONE ELSE will though so .... {yeah} more higher taxes {/yeah}.

quote:

The lie is that THEY don't have to pay SOMEONE ELSE will though...

Yep, that's how it's being sold. The current rate is a flat 4.95%, so "only the top 3% of tax filers would see an increased rate".

Your wealthiest residents are also your most mobile residents. It’s that simple. If you’re a high paid (fill in the blank here) you can either ask for a transfer to a different office or find the same job for roughly the same pay somewhere else.

If you own a business, you are not as mobile, but you can open an office in a new location and eventually move your HQ there in time as you build that location.

If you’re a low earner without a lot of options, you’ll likely have to stay put. Sooooooo, higher taxes means the people you want leave and those who aren’t contributing nearly as much stay.

It will most likely be before the voters in November:

State Income Tax Constitutional Amendment Passes Senate Committee

A committee approved a bill Wednesday to give voters a chance to repeal the Illinois Constitution's ban on progressive income tax rates.

SPRINGFIELD, IL — An Illinois Senate committee has passed a bill to propose a constitutional amendment that would eliminate the state's flat income tax mandate. The change would allow state lawmakers to establish different income tax rates for different levels of income as well as new taxes on different types of income.

The Senate Executive Committee voted 12-5 Wednesday to send the proposed amendment to the full Senate, which voted 36-15 on Tuesday to waive the requirement for six days of notice before a committee hearing. Both were party line votes with Republican senators opposing the changes introduced by Democrats in the majority.

In Illinois, constitutional amendments require approval from 60% of the members of each chamber and 60% of voters. If the proposal for an amendment allowing a graduated income tax is approved this session by the General Assembly, a referendum question will be presented to voters in November.

A change to the Illinois Constitution is necessary for the adoption of the progressive income tax rates proposed last month by Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Ahead of his election in November, the Chicago Democrat campaigned on a promise to protect middle class taxpayers while raising rates on the wealthy. His proposed "fair tax" anticipates the state can raise $3.4 billion from the top 3% of earners, while the other 97% would pay less.

"It doesn't make sense that I pay the same rate as a teacher or a first responder," said Pritkzer, one of 18 Illinois billionaires, at a press conference Tuesday. "Today, we are taking a first step, a next step to fix that unfairness."

The bill's sponsor, Oak Park Democrat Sen. Dan Harmon, changed the language of the amendment Tuesday. The first version of the proposed constitutional change suggested "lower rates apply to lower income levels and higher rates apply to higher income levels. No government other than the State may impose a tax on or measured by income."

Harmon amended it to eliminate any mention of a "fair tax." Now it simply says, "The General Assembly shall provide by law for the rate or rates of any tax on or measured by income imposed by the State." Both versions eliminated the constitutional limitation of a single state income tax for individuals and a single tax for corporations. He announced the amendment at a press conference with the governor.

"It is simply a slightly more 'lawyerly' way of saying what all of the prior versions of the amendment have said: that Illinois should have the tools to adopt a fair income tax where lower rates apply to lower income levels and higher rates apply to higher income levels," Harmon said. "This is something we've been working on for the better part of 10 years. What's different now is Gov. Pritzker, a governor brave enough to say this is the solution for our state and to put his considerable political capital behind this effort."

Harmon's proposed amendment does not specify any rate structure. Pritzker's proposed "fair tax" includes a top rate of 7.95% of all income for those reporting more than $1 million in income in Illinois.

Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady, a Bloomington Republican, said his caucus would not be supporting the constitutional change because it would put middle class families at risk.

"This provision opens up the opportunity to raise taxes even easier, and to play some games with our tax code. I believe that the crafters of our current constitution, and the fact that the people embraced that constitution which included a flat tax, was there to protect middle-income families from politicians. We've proven that it's fairly easy to raise taxes in Illinois in the last couple years and I think that this works toward even making that easier," Brady said before the committee's vote Wednesday. "The people who testified against this are people who employ middle-income families, and the concern that this opens the door is very, very alarming to us."

Matoon Republican Sen. Dale Righter, the committee's minority spokesperson, said Harmon's amended version was "actually worse than the original" because it eliminates the constitutional prohibition on more than one income tax levied on any individual.

"J.B. Pritzker's the governor today," Righter said. "But there'll be someone else in office. This leaves the door wide open to anything, including a system of taxation that taxes different types of income at different rates."


Gov. JB Pritkzer appears with Democratic Illinois lawmakers at an April 9 press conference ahead of the first committee hearing of Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 1. (Office of the Gov. JB Pritkzer)

Pritzker said claims by opponents that his proposed tax plan would lead to the departure of wealthy residents and cost the state jobs are unfounded.

"For those who will oppose a fair tax by waging a misinformation campaign: It is transparent that you are defending an unfair status quo that benefits the wealthiest Illinoisans instead of offering your own ideas for how to fix our state's problems," Pritzker said. "Fact checkers have made this abundantly clear."

House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, a Republican from Western Springs, said the actual income rates should be included in the proposed constitutional questions since state lawmakers were, historically, not trustworthy.

"The 'unfair status quo' is what has happened to Illinois taxpayers by the same Democrats who run these chambers, who have passed massive tax increases in the last 10 years based on the premise that we would pay off our bills and get Illinois fixed — It never happened," Durkin told reporters Tuesday. "We should not be giving these Democrats in this building the ability to change rates and virtually a blank check to raise taxes on Illinoisans in the future."

Republicans have proposed their own constitutional amendment on income taxes. A bill sponsored by Sen. Dan McConchie of Hawthorn Woods would require a two-thirds vote of state lawmakers in both houses for any tax increase or new tax.

With Democrats holding a supermajority of 40 seats to 19 for Republicans, the constitutional amendment is likely to receive the 35 votes it needs for passage. In the House, 70 votes are required, but Democrats hold a slimmer supermajority with 74 seats to 44 held by the GOP .

Riverside Democrat Rep. Mike Zalewski said House Democrats aim to work with the governor to send the constitutional amendment to voters in the fall.

"The last four years have shown that our current tax system does not work for anybody," Zalewski said. "It's been four years of devastation. It's been four years of us trying to climb out of a needless hole."

https://patch.com/illinois/spr...ses-senate-committee

Illinois is bleeding population.

I got this in today's mail and basically says "you better support sticking it to the rich or we will stick it to you too", like two lions and a lamb deciding who is for lunch lunch.

No one is talking about cutting government spending just increasing taxes. As chellim1 posted above if this passses it will be easy to take the "rich" category down to $100,000 next time. I can't believe there is enough individual/family income over $250,000 to stop the bleeding in the least bit and it is going to have to be fixed at the spending end.

A government that robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.
- George Bernard Shaw

In typical liberal fashion we have hypocrites.

https://www.foxnews.com/politi...tax-break-on-mansion

quote:

Originally posted by kramden:
Illinois is bleeding population.

Iowa welcomes all, preferably conservatives. We're on the Mississippi River, the Quad Cities are (IA) Davenport & Bettendorf and (IL) Rock Island & Moline. Housing starts on the IA side are soaring, the IL side...not so much.

IA taxes pensions as income, IL does not. Sooner or later IL will be broke and will have to tax pensions, but only if the unions approve.

quote:

The lie is that THEY don't have to pay SOMEONE ELSE will though so .... {yeah} more higher taxes {/yeah}.

But in the end they WILL pay though. Through lost jobs or higher prices as those 'wealthy' business owners pass on the costs of those added taxes. Higher rents on apartments. Higher rents for businesses that get passed along. Yet the gummint continues to spend like drunken sailors on shore leave. Not even one mention of any spending restraint in all this. When my finances get tight, the FIRST thing I have to do is rein in my spending.

And what I never understand is, that all these Dhims who want to tax the rich were likely bankrolled in their political campaigns by the very same folks they want to take more money from.

From the other Prickster thread- the good governor thinks it’s ok to hike the taxes of the more well off... despite the fact that he’s one of the well off and tried to illegally lower his taxes. Typical democrat hypocrite.

https://wgntv.com/2019/04/24/r...ts-to-get-tax-break/