Categories: Chicago

Illinois battles over fair tax in city, Illinoisans agree on fair tax

The battle of getting fair tax is on in Illinois. JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, said last March that the current flat tax of the state was regressive. The percentage of the same income had detrimental impacts on people earning $50000 or less per year. The taxpayers having high disposable income per month will not have many detrimental effects over the same percentage of income.

Pritzker said that people having higher incomes would pay more taxes. It will add more than $3 billion in additional tax revenue. Ralph Martire, a member of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, said in a debate with Dan Proft, a conservative pundit, “The state’s much-maligned and underfunded pension system is actually a consequence of flat tax.”

The pension funds of Illinois are underfunded in the long run. The legislators drew on pension funds to balance the budget in the short run. There is a need for a more equitable tax system for everyone in Illinois. It is not about punishing the rich ones. A fair tax system allows the government to balance the economy. The anti-taxers called the fair tax a ‘scare tax’.

Bill Brady, the state senate minority leader, said, “The graduated income tax must be defeated.” A study carried out by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign revealed that the progressive income tax could grow the state economy by $8 billion a year. The current administration has also introduced the Online Fair Tax Calculator. This calculator allows the residents to judge the effects of the fair tax on their tax bills.

The fair tax system does not attack the rich residents of Illinois but it helps to make the taxes more equitable. JB Pritzker embraced it and he wants to make the tax system more equitable. All Illinoisans will get benefit from it. If the top 3% of the taxpayers, having more than $250000 in disposable income, would pay more taxes then the government will become strong in providing the best services to the overall population. The pension funds will also get better. It is the theme of ‘One Illinois’ perspective.

Jackson Sorbo

Managing editor of the Chicago Morning Star

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