The president of Illinois’ largest taxpayer organization today issued a statement condemning Gov. Jay Robert “J. B.” Pritzker for betraying Illinois’ middle class and poor by significantly raising gasoline and cigarette taxes.
“Illinois’ corpulent con-man Pritzker has pushed these cruel and destructive tax increases on the state’s middle class and poor,” said Jim Tobin, president of Taxpayers United of America (TUA). “While middle class taxpayers struggle to make ends meet, the bloated $45 billion ‘infrastructure’ spending package passed is a payoff to the state’s labor unions that feed the Democrat machine. Adding insult to injury, the legislators that passed these massive tax increase will get a pay raise of $1,600 annually.”
“Retired state employees are literally becoming pension millionaires on the backs of workers in the private sector who are funding these lavish, gold-plated pensions with their taxes. In the meantime, these private sector workers, many of whom are losing their retirement plans, must pay a lot more for gasoline and cigarettes.”
“The state’s residents who are poor are the most affected by the enormous, regressive tax increases on these items.”
“The doubling of the state’s 19-cent-per-gallon motor fuel tax to 38 cents, higher fees for license plates and driver’s licenses, a 15% tax on e-cigarettes. and the $1-per-pack cigarette tax hike on the current $1.98 state tax are outrageous.”
“It’s time Illinois voters woke up to how much they are being ripped-off by Pritzker and his fellow Springfield tax-raisers for the benefit of special interests.”
