Excerpt:
Gov. J.B. Pritzker long warned that without his graduated-rate income tax, which voters rejected in November, Illinois would be left with only two options to address its chronic budget problems: raising income taxes or double digit across-the-board spending cuts.
But ahead of his budget address to lawmakers Wednesday, Pritzker outlined a state spending plan that would neither raise the income tax or alter the total budget outlay.
He did call for closing $900 million in unspecified “corporate tax loopholes,” which opponents are already labeling a tax hike on businesses in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
What remains to be seen is whether the governor will look to other avenues to increase revenue, although his options appear limited. He has opposed two of the leading options favored by some budget watchers: instituting a tax on retirement income and applying the sales tax to some services.
Author(s): DAN PETRELLA
Publication Date: 14 February 2021
Publication Site: Chicago Tribune