Taxpayers Oppose 7 Property Tax Increase Referenda April 4

By on March 20, 2017   /   Illinois, Items of Interest, Latest, News Releases, Taxpayer Alert  

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Chicago – Government bureaucrats want voters to approve seven property tax increase referenda on the April 4, 2017 ballot, but Taxpayers United of America’s (TUA) president, Jim Tobin, says opposing these measures is best for residents concerned with their skyrocketing property taxes, their homes, and their livelihood.
“Whether the proposal to voters is to enact home rule, which gives unlimited taxing authority to local bureaucrats, or to issue tens of millions of dollars in new bonds and raise property taxes, taxpayers in these six communities must reject these seven referenda on the April 4 ballot to avoid disastrous increases to their property tax bills,” said Tobin.
TUA and local supporters are opposing two home rule referenda in Lynwood and Coal City and government school property tax increase referenda in Berwyn, Evanston, Hinsdale, and Oak Park.
You can download PDFs of our ‘Vote No’ flyers below for printing and distribution.

“On November 4, 2014, sixty percent of voters rejected the last attempt by government bureaucrats to impose home rule on the taxpayers of Lynwood,” said Tobin. “Taxpayers should overwhelming defeat home rule unlimited taxing authority in Lynwood again, and the residents of Coal City must reject it, too.”
According to Taxpayers United of America (TUA), home rule means higher taxes.
“I like to call it ‘home ruin,’” said Tobin. “Why would anyone want to give up their right to vote on property tax increases?”
“Home rule always means higher taxes because it removes the cap limiting the amount that bureaucrats can increase property taxes. It gives bureaucrats a blank check and how many government bureaucrats would you trust with a blank check bearing your signature?”
“Home rule also gives local government authority to tax nearly any product or service they want. What they don’t tell you is that such taxation drives consumers to neighboring communities where the taxes on products and services are lower.”
“Berwyn South SD 100 collected $13.3 million in property taxes last year and seeks to increase property taxes by seventeen percent to steal another $2.2 million from taxpayers,” said Tobin. “Voters have overwhelmingly rejected referenda to raise their property taxes for the government schools as recently as 2014.”
Evanston/Skokie CCSD 65 is seeking to increase property taxes by $450 annually and the board of Education of Hinsdale Township HSD 86 wants to issue $76 million in new bonds, raising property taxes by more than $450 annually, which doesn’t include future property tax hikes to pay $24 million in interest.
Oak Park SD 97 has two referenda on the ballot this year, asking voters to raise their property taxes by $13.3 million and issue new bonds totaling $57.5 million. The two referenda will spike the property tax bill of an average homeowner by more than $700 annually.
“Illinois has one of the highest foreclosure rates in the country. You have to wonder how many people could have stayed in their homes if the property taxes weren’t so high – the highest property taxes in the country,” said Tobin.
“TUA has defeated 420 local tax increase referenda since 1977. We urge voters in these six communities to tell bureaucrats that they have had enough of government living beyond its means at the expense of taxpayers. Voters should urge their fellow taxpayers to Vote No.”
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 4.

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Border Adjustment Tax Isn’t Free Trade or Fair

By on March 2, 2017   /   Illinois, Latest, News Releases  

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Chicago — The border adjustment tax proposed by Pres. Donald Trump is just another name for a tariff, one of the most destructive types of taxation, said the president of Taxpayers United of America (TUA).
“American consumers always take it on the chin when tariffs are passed,” said Jim Tobin, President of TUA and an economist.
“The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 raised U.S. tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods, and more than any other factor, caused the country’s recession to become the Great Depression. Tariffs, which are passed to protect farmers or classes of manufacturers, always cause more damage than the benefits they purport to produce.”
“Phil Gramm, an economist and former Congressman and Senator from Texas, pointed out in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal that a 25% rise in the value of the U.S. dollar brought about by the proposed tariff would cause a one-time reduction of 3% in the value of Americans’ net foreign assets. This would result in a horrendous destruction of household wealth of $2.7 trillion.”
“It is ironic that President Trump referred to Pres. Abraham Lincoln’s protectionism as a good thing.”
“Abraham Lincoln was the biggest state tax raiser in Illinois during the 19th century. As legislative leader in Springfield, he promoted pork barrel spending that raised state property taxes and almost bankrupted Illinois. None of his tax-subsidized projects were completed, but his political allies lined their pockets with tax dollars and helped make Lincoln a well-paid politician.”
“Lincoln said, ‘Give us a protective tariff and we will have the greatest nation on earth.’ Pursuing the War Between the States, which caused, by the latest estimates, as many as 850,000 American deaths, Lincoln strongly opposed free trade and implemented a 44-percent tariff during the Civil War—in part to pay for railroad subsidies and for the war effort, and to protect favored industries.”
“Tariffs are never good for American consumers. They raise their cost of living, leaving less money in their pockets. Free trade IS fair trade—fair to American consumers trying to make ends meet.”

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Another State Income Tax Hike Isn’t Compromise, It’s Suicide

By on February 15, 2017   /   Illinois, Items of Interest, Latest, News Releases  

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Chicago, IL – Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) delivered his third budget address to the Illinois General Assembly today, calling on legislators to embrace structural change to the state government and pass a balanced budget.
But taxpayers should prepare for a long fight over the state’s finances, said Jared Labell, executive director of Taxpayers United of America.
“Once again, politicians in Springfield have told taxpayers that they will strike a balance between tax increases and structural reforms to the state government to pass a balanced budget,” said Labell. “But if history is a guide, then taxpayers can bet that in Springfield, the word ‘compromise’ is synonymous with tax hikes.”
Rauner praised Senate President Cullerton (D) and Leader Radogno (R) for working together on the so-called “grand bargain,” which includes a multibillion state income tax increase.
“Senate President Cullerton, Leader Radogno and Senate lawmakers have shown tremendous leadership in bringing all parties together to find common ground on a combination of spending cuts, revenue, and changes that will create jobs and ensure long-term balanced budgets,” said Rauner. “Standing here three weeks ago, I encouraged them to keep working, to never give up. And they have done just that.”
The Senate’s current budget proposal calls for a permanent state income tax hike but only temporary property tax relief. Rauner said he could accept an increase in the state’s income tax rate if a permanent property tax freeze was adopted.
He also said he was open to “expand the state’s sales tax to cover everyday services and raise taxes on food and drugs” to mirror neighboring states, but Rauner cautioned that doing so, or creating a new state income tax on retirement income, would hurt lower-income families and seniors on a fixed income.
“Illinois is losing residents to states without income taxes, without mountains of government debt, and with more prosperous economies,” said Labell. “During the last income tax hike, Illinois lost a quarter of a million people from 2011 through 2014. Those who can afford to move will do so, while the taxpayers who remain in Illinois face steeper challenges.”
“The Civic Federation’s proposed $51 billion tax hike over the next six years is as laughable as Rauner’s comment to the Illinois General Assembly about not pointing fingers or assigning blame,” said Labell. “The legislators laughed, but they are to blame. Both parties. Decades of overspending, lavish government pensions, mounting debt, and burdensome taxes have crippled Illinois. If taxpayers want economic growth to return to the state, the first step is keeping our tax dollars out of the government coffers and in the private sector,” said Labell.
“Rauner was right to argue that change must come to Springfield and the operations of the state government, but compromising on a multibillion-dollar state income tax hike is economic suicide, not a strategy.”

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