Wednesday, April 4, 2018

More taxes

More answers needed on Pritzker’s “artificial progressive income tax”Wednesday, Apr 4, 2018 
Pritzker has said his goals as governor would be expanding early childhood education, increasing funding for grade and high schools, widening tax breaks for lower-income earners and reducing the property tax burden on local homeowners. Achieving them could require a significant increase in the state income tax rate of 4.95 percent on individuals.
Illinois widely is regarded as paying a relatively low share of the funding for public grade and high schools, about 25 percent based on Illinois State Board of Education figures for the 2016-2017 school year. Instead, nearly 70 percent of schools’ money comes from local property taxes. A Civic Federation study found that $18 billion in property taxes is dedicated to local schools statewide.
[…]
“It would take us about two years in total to get it all done and said, that we would have a progressive income tax,” Pritzker said at a Loop news conference.
“So in the meantime, you could have what I would describe as … an artificial progressive income tax in which we would raise the exemptions for those striving to get to the middle class, those in the middle class too, and raise the overall rate and raise the earned income tax credit at the same time — all of which would create a kind of artificial graduated income tax in the state,” he said.
Pritzker didn’t elaborate on how additional exemptions or deductions would work. He said he viewed an increase in the state’s flat-rate income tax as “only a temporary answer and that you really need the permanent answer of a constitutional amendment.”
1) It could take longer than two years for a graduated income tax to find three-fifths super-majorities in both chambers. A lot longer. Even if the House Dems increase their strength this November and reach the magic number of 71, Speaker Madigan has several members who either are anti-tax hike or (more likely) have been deliberately positioned as anti-tax.
2) The “artificial” progressive tax is an interesting idea. But Pritzker needs to flesh it out some more. He’s squeamish about identifying rates for his progressive tax idea, but what about at least giving us a cutting-off-point on income levels that would benefit from his “artificial” plan? Where would he draw those lines?

6 comments:

  1. Anonymous4/04/2018

    Those who take the most pay the least.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous4/04/2018

    Well, there's outright proclamations of tax increases, and then there's sneaky misappropriation of US tax dollars to subsidize leftist organizations like this:

    “The Obama administration quietly spent at least $9 million in U.S. taxpayers’ dollars in direct collusion with left-wing billionaire George Soros’ backing of a socialist government in Albania,” Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said in a statement Wednesday. “It is particularly outrageous that the State Department allowed the Soros operation to help direct taxpayer funds to other groups.”

    Yeah, lets make sure we give up some publicly owned property so this Ahole can have his library here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4/04/2018

      People think we dislike 0bama because he's half-Black.
      We dislike him because he's crooked and incompetent.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous4/05/2018

    That’s why I’m going with raunner

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anonymous4/05/2018

      The lesser of evils.

      Delete
  4. Anonymous4/05/2018

    I remember telling my kids there was no Santa Claus. Fessing up on the Tooth Fairy and Easter Bunny was a breeze. Telling them what a leftist bullshit artist Obama is gonna be a no-brainer.

    ReplyDelete