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This November, Illinois voters will get the chance to ratify two potential amendments to the state’s Constitution. The first would establish rights for crime victims. The second would expand protections of the right to vote. Here’s hoping a third amendment gets on the ballot — the one proposed by state Senator Harmon and Representative Mitchell that would allow state income tax rates to track ability to pay, by assessing lower rates on lower levels of income and higher rates on higher levels of income. If it gets on the ballot, this initiative would permit Illinois voters to decide if they’d like to be taxed in a manner that’s fairer than current law.
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1. More than any other taxes, income taxes are most closely related to a citizen’s ability to pay.
2. Income taxes can easily be tweaked to go easiest on low wage earners.
3. Income taxes are more transparent than property taxes.
4. A tax on income earned in the city nicks suburban commuters for the services they use.
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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — “It matters, particularly for small businesses, to invest in education,” said Ralph Martire, who heads the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability. “Small businesses hire primarily from the local labor market. They need their local schools to produce quality workers with literacy and numeracy skills.”
Martire says Illinois cannot pay more for education if the state rolls back the 2011 “temporary” tax.
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The Center for Tax and Budget Accountability said its study showed property taxes are a bigger burden for businesses than income taxes. Martire said the group’s study shows that corporate income taxes comprise just 8 percent of the business tax burden in Illinois. The burden is just less than 5 percent for the many small businesses that pay income taxes under personal rather than corporate rates, he said.
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On April 7, 2014, the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (CTBA) released a new report, Good for Business: How Illinois Can Best Support Small Business, which highlights the best practices and policy initiatives decision makers could take to support small businesses in Illinois.
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Quinn says Illinois can’t afford to let tax hike expire
Gov. Pat Quinn presented his annual budget address March 26 at the Capitol. In the 25-minute speech, Quinn emphasized his plan to stabilize revenues and prevent deep spending cuts in Illinois for the 2014-2015 fiscal year and future years. The crux of that plan is keeping the individual income tax at its present rate of 5 percent.
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The $250 million annual property tax increase that Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants to shore up two of Chicago's dangerously underfunded pension funds could almost double if he reaches similar deals to restructure other equally troubled retirement plans, according to a Crain's estimate.
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In his state budget address Wednesday, Gov. Pat Quinn said keeping the tax hike is a hard choice – and some question if it is the right choice.
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As I often remind you, Illinois is in a world of financial hurt. Liberals say we have a revenue problem, conservatives say we have a spending problem. Both sides make convincing cases for their beliefs.
I tend to be one who says our state needs to trim spending instead of ask for more