Posted on 01/09/2011 11:36:13 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Chicago
If you thought California had the ugliest budget outlook in America, think again. California's deficit is at $21 billion, or roughly 20%, of the state budget. But in Illinois, the budget deficit of $15 billion is greater than 40% of the state's annual revenues.
To close that hole, the legislature in Springfield, controlled by Democrats and led by the all-powerful Speaker of the House, Michael Madigan, is now convened in an emergency lame duck session. On Thursday night, Gov. Pat Quinn and leaders in the house and senate agreed on a plan that they'll vote on as soon as tomorrow—before newly elected members, many Republican, are sworn in on Jan. 12. The proposed deal would raise the state's income tax by 75% over the next four years. Add the $1 cigarette tax increase and the total tax bill goes up $7 billion a year. That's more than double the biggest tax hike in the state's history.
In fairness to Gov. Quinn, he told voters he was going to raise their income taxes by 33%—to a rate of 4% from the current 3%—and they re-elected him anyway. But after the election, Democrats started inflating their tax-hike ambitions. The income tax is now slated to rise to 5.25% from 3%, and the corporate tax to 8.4% from 4.8%.
Add the state's 2.5% personal property tax on business and the effective corporate tax rate in Illinois will surge to 10.9%. When combined with the federal rate of 35%, Illinois will have the highest corporate tax rate in the industrialized world, according to the Tax Foundation.
For those who are counting, that's more than $1,600 a year more per household, according to the Illinois Policy Institute, a free-market think tank.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
What a great plan,bleed business white with taxes.
Look for them to charge an exit tax when business tries to escape the state.
State Union members must get their $180,000 pensions at any cost. This will work, at the point of a gun, for a year or two, what’s next?
Hey, Missouri will happily take any businesses Illinois decides to ru n out with their high taxes :) We’re just next door!
It will be easier to change the state constitution than to get the money to pay for current obligations. Hopefully, there will be a massive political bloodletting of the Combine's members. I betting that it won't happen until it is clear that Obama won't win a second term. Daley will be out, the Cook County crowd will be fighting amongst themselves, and Rahm will get stuck with blame for the fiscal disaster that is the City of Chicago.
I wonder what scion of the south side Irish will be put forward for the Mayorship in 2016.
Have mercy on us and save us O Lord, from these unions and their enablers.
It will take less than a year for there to be nobody left to tax - they will pull up stumps and leave!
What dumb, dumb, dumb politicians!
Mel
Illinois, the new Michigan. I guess we should expect to see corporations moving down here. Well, more jobs for us perhaps.
Insanity
RE: I guess we should expect to see corporations moving down here. Well, more jobs for us perhaps.
What state do you live in?
Hussein’s home state but, of course, it can’t be his fault.
Didn’t Boeing move their HQ from Seattle to Chicago a few years back?
Ouch!
I wouldn’t be surprised if Boeing considered some place in the South eventually.
I live in Illinois. The legislators will probably pass this tax increase because an election was held two months ago. They know that when they run for re-election, in 2012, the majority of the voters will forget what they did, in Jan. 2011.
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