Tag: progressive income tax

Op-ed: New Jersey’s fiscal mess might lead to statewide property tax. You’re forewarned, Illinois

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-prem-opinion-edit-fixing-illinois-chicago-budget-new-jersey-tax-20210423-a7dxpc5g4nhkrjgfbyzkrzvjxy-story.html

Excerpt:

Connecticut has opened the door for a statewide property tax that has no upper limit. It offers a “new” tax revenue source for states such as New Jersey that have failed to address their structural deficits and continue to live beyond their means. Many New Jersey homeowners refer to their local property tax bills as a second mortgage, since the burden often rivals or exceeds the monthly payments on their home purchase.

A review of New Jersey’s modern history of taxes shows citizens should rightly be concerned.

Our state enacted a personal income tax in 1976 to support public schools and provide property tax relief. The tax began with a simple two-rate structure consisting of a 2.0% rate on income below $20,000 and a 2.5% rate on income above $20,000. In 45 years, 8 brackets have been introduced without any substantive update to account for inflation, making this more burdensome over time. The only meaningful change has been to establish a new top rate of 10.75%, the 3rd highest in the nation.

Author(s): REGINA M. EGEA

Publication Date: 23 April 2021

Publication Site: Chicago Tribune

PRITZKER PRESSURES BIDEN FOR TAX CHANGE WORTH $2.5 MILLION A YEAR TO GOVERNOR

Mary Pat Campbell

Link: https://www.illinoispolicy.org/pritzker-pressures-biden-for-tax-change-worth-2-5-million-a-year-to-governor/

Graphic:

Excerpt:

Of course, no one can know the true extent to which Pritzker has been able to reduce his tax bills through loopholes and carve-outs over the years, because he refuses to release his full tax returns. In recent years it has been revealed Pritzker went to great lengths to avoid paying taxes, removing toilets from his Gold Coast mansion to skimp on his property tax bill by $331,000 and establishing shell corporations in the Bahamas in a likely attempt to avoid U.S. income taxes. The toilet ploy earned him a federal investigation.

The letter, which pushes for tax reforms that would almost exclusively benefit the wealthy, comes less than six months after Pritzker’s progressive income tax amendment was rejected by voters and is a significant departure from his previous stance on taxation.  In the letter, Pritzker claims the cap hurts middle-class taxpayers and is “untenable” during these dire economic times. Because the data is clear on who directly benefits from the SALT deduction, one can only assume the governor is implying higher taxes on the wealthy also hurt Americans with lower incomes.

That is precisely the argument opponents of the “fair tax” made after the governor first unveiled his tax-the-rich scheme in 2019.

Author(s): Orphe Divounguy, Bryce Hill

Publication Date: 23 April 2021

Publication Site: Illinois Policy Institute

TRUST? ILLINOIS STILL REFUSES TO PAY ITS PENSION BILL.

Mary Pat Campbell
Trust? Illinois still refuses to pay its pension bill.

Excerpt:

Only the statutory contribution is not what the state owes to meet its obligation and prevent more debt. “Statutory” should be translated as the legislature made up a number and blew it out their collective butts.

The actuarial amount owed, the amount actually needed to keep from growing the liability is several billion more that the statutory amount.

They short the pension system every year, after year, after year, after year. And this year again.

Not exactly a trust-building thing, right?

Author(s): Fred Klonsky

Publication Date: 28 February 2021

Publication Site: Fred Klonsky