The Illinois initiative has prompted the New York Times to weigh in editorially by calling on Illinois voters to “Say yes to fairer taxation.” The Times argues that “most Americans accept the commonsense case for progressive taxation: those who have more ought to contribute more to the society that is the foundation of their prosperity.” But this proposition turns out to be wrong. The obvious rejoinder is that, in total dollars, the rich pay far larger amounts in all taxes, much of which is used for transfer payments from which they do not benefit. This leads to a regressive system overall, where the poor pay an effective tax rate of 14.4 percent, while the top 1 percent pay only 7.4 percent. The argument goes that the poorest 20 percent of the public are disproportionately exposed to high state, county, and local sales taxes, which total 10.25 percent in Chicago. This change in tax structure is held out as the fairest because it puts onto the rich the burden of shoring up Illinois’s rickety finances. The legislative plan maintains a flat tax for the financial elite: Individuals reporting income above $750,000 and couples with joint incomes above $1,000,000 would pay a 7.95 percent rate from their first dollar. as income increases, so would the tax rate, maxing out at 7.85 percent. Most earners would be subject to progressive rate scales starting at 4.75 percent for the first $10,000 of income earned. Notably, the initial legislative plan on which the amendment is largely based-and which was proposed by the Democrat-controlled legislature-is a hybrid between a flat and progressive scheme. The amendment does not offer any specific progressive rate scale, but allows for increasing tax rates to be applied to successive tiers of a taxpayer’s income. The amendment requires a simple majority vote to be passed. Currently, all income earned in Illinois is taxed at a 4.95 percent rate. Pritzker, the amendment seeks to remove a provision in the Illinois constitution that requires all income taxes to be flat-that is, held at a constant rate regardless of the amount of income earned by any taxpayer.
Supported politically (and financially) by Illinois’s billionaire governor, J. One of the most contentious political battles of the 2020 election cycle involves the Illinois “Fair Tax” ballot amendment.
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