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Tax hike is betrayal of taxpayers

Created: Thursday, January 13, 2011 5:30 a.m. CDT
Updated: Friday, January 14, 2011 9:23 a.m. CDT
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State Democratic lawmakers betrayed taxpayers this week by ramming through a 66 percent income tax increase that will cost the average McHenry County household an additional $1,600 this year.

With the backing of Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, lawmakers betrayed businesses by also approving a 46 percent corporate tax increase that will cost Illinois an untold number of jobs.

Both hikes were approved without a single Republican vote in either the House or Senate.

And the votes came during the waning hours of the legislative session. A new General Assembly was sworn in at noon Wednesday. With voters across Illinois electing more Republicans to legislative positions last November, the lame-duck House and Senate betrayed the very voters who demanded change in Springfield.

The personal income tax will increase from 3 percent to 5 percent of a wage earner’s salary. For example, an individual or household making $80,000 annually will pay $4,000 in state income taxes this year, compared with $2,400 last year.

Quinn misled voters during his campaign, when he repeatedly said that he would veto any income-tax increase that raised the rate higher than 4 percent.

Quinn would rather his aides have your money than you. Remember last year, when he gave 235 members of his staff raises, 225 of them higher than 5 percent and some higher than 20 percent. When was the last time a private sector taxpayer received such a generous salary increase?

Quinn and lawmakers would rather fork over more of your hard-earned money to the thousands of members of state public employee unions – both working and retired – because they don’t have the backbone to tell these unions that enough is enough. They don’t have the backbone to tell these unions, not only is there not enough money for raises this year or next, public salaries are going to have to be scaled back because taxpayers no longer can afford them.

With property and other business taxes as high as they are in this state, Illinois already had a difficult time competing with the likes of Wisconsin and Indiana when it came to luring new businesses. With the corporate income tax increase, it’s all but impossible.

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