The Illinois House of Representatives is being asked today to vote for a budget that recognizes the permanency of the ‘temporary’ tax increase of 2011.
Earlier this year, the Illinois House unanimously set revenue projections, as required by the Budgeting for Results law, at $34.5 billion. The nearly 60 budget bills being voted upon on the House floor today contain General Funds spending of at least $37.3 billion — $2.8 billion more than agreed to by the General Assembly despite any change in projected revenue for Fiscal Year 15.
Let me be clear: Any vote for these spending increases is a vote to extend the 67 percent income tax hike as the passage of these bills would require an extension of the ‘temporary’ tax increase.
As the day continues, The Caucus Blog will be live tracking the FY 15 Budget spending and you can follow along here.
More taxes and more spending – this has become the Illinois way. Springfield can never have too much money. By the end of this calendar year, the ‘temporary’ Democrat tax increase will have taken $31 billion from Illinois working families and small businesses.
When Democrats passed the 67% tax hike in 2011, it was promised as a temporary mechanism to Illinois taxpayers for paying off old bills and balancing the state’s budget. At that time, Illinois had an $8.5 billion backlog of unpaid bills. Despite an additional $31 billion collected in the temporary income tax, today, things are not looking much better. Illinois still has more than $5 billion in unpaid bills and is $127 billion in debt.
This tax hike has already triggered employers and families to leave Illinois for greener pastures at alarming rates. Nearly 278,000 Illinoisans left the state in 2012, placing Illinois second highest in the nation for outward migration. If Illinois does not abandon this tax and spend policy, and focus instead on providing comprehensive tax relief, we will continue to lose jobs, families, and businesses.
Hardworking taxpayers can’t afford another tax increase and raising taxes does nothing to help the 550,000 unemployed Illinoisans to find work. If you agree, please click here to sign our tax petition which we will share with our colleagues in the Illinois House.
Sincerely,
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