Posted on 06/10/2011 5:22:33 PM PDT by Kaslin
States: The company that owns Chicago's two largest futures exchanges is thinking about moving operations out of state to flee oppressive business taxes. Worried about climate change? How about the business climate?
The days when Chicago was the "hog butcher to the world" have long since passed, replaced by its role as a leading financial trading center that is home to the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, also known as the Merc, and the Chicago Board of Trade.
On Wednesday, Terence Duffy, chairman of CME Group Inc., which owns the two institutions as well as the New York Mercantile Exchange, and Chief Financial Officer James Parisi announced the financial giant is considering moving operations and jobs out of the state in response to massive increases in state taxes.
Parisi told the company's annual meeting of shareholders that the state legislature's tax hike on corporations from 4.8% to 7% costs CME an extra $50 million a year. Corporations in Illinois also pay 2.5% tax on income, called a personal property replacement tax, which is collected by the state and flows to local governments.
The two rates taken together come to 9.5%, the third highest corporate tax rate in the nation, according to the Tax Foundation. In February, CME reported a 3% drop in fourth-quarter earnings partly because of expenses it booked related to the tax hike.
"I'm going to do what's in the best interests of the shareholders," Duffy said, adding that "if that means opportunities are greater elsewhere, then we're going to look at those opportunities." CME joins other Illinois companies such as Caterpillar and Sears Holdings who have talked about leaving town.
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
Obama,”I’m going to fundamentally change America.” And he is..at least ‘til Sarah cleans up his mess.
I wish that all business would flee the blue states and leave them to sink in their own dung heap.
Maybe Houston? The Energy Capital, Nice tax structure, come on down. Be the next in the long line of people moving to where the market is good and free. Bring your money, leave the liberals behind.
We could see Rick Santelli, reporting on CNBC, from the floor of the Charleston Merc — in a facility originally built by Boeing but which they were forced to abandon thanks to Obama’s NLRB......
And Boeing should move their corporate HQ out of Chicago. I remember about 10 yrs ago when Boeing was deciding between Chicago and Dallas where to place their HQ (moving out of Seattle). They chose Chicago.
In retrospect, Boeing really blew it. Obama’s labor goons are suing them for opening their mfg plant in the Carolinas, Illinois is taxing all businesses to death or exodus, and Texas is, well, booming.
Boeing is pressing ahead with the opening of that assembly plant. I think that it opened today.
Not in the mood for a little tongue in cheek humor tonight? I realize Boeing is going ahead —
Sarah Palin may be the antivenin this country needs.
Houston and Dallas are in the same time zone.
Every last one.
fitting
Of course I am, and recognized it as such. Sorry for not acknowledging it. Didn’t know if you knew that the plant was operational.
They could come to Texas. We are business savvy.
We have low taxes here in sunny Florida.
I’ve read posts from people who say we’re not to judge Illinois by Chicago or what comes out of Chicago.
Does this apply here?
We have low taxes here in sunny Florida.
Plus we have two metro areas with major hub airports. It also helps that Texas is in the same time zone, so they could keep the same business hours they kept in Chicago.
And many of the traded commodities actually pass through Texas - something that can no longer be said of Chicago.
I am in the same time zone
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