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Chicago – Taxpayers United of America (TUA) urges the Illinois General Assembly to reject the proposals to amend the Illinois Constitution and implement a graduated income tax by opposing HJRCA59 and HB689.
“On behalf of TUA’s membership of tens of thousands of Illinois taxpayers, we call upon the Illinois General Assembly to defeat Rep. Christian L. Mitchell’s (D-26, Chicago) proposed graduated income tax constitutional amendment and Deputy Majority Leader Rep. Lou Lang’s (D-16, Skokie) legislation proposing rates under a new graduated income tax. Enacting these changes to the state income tax would have devastating consequences for Illinois’ economy and its taxpayers,” said TUA director of operations, Jared Labell.
“Approving the graduated income tax constitutional amendment and corresponding legislation will not come close to solving the state’s budget impasse. The projected $2 billion in additional tax dollars extracted from taxpayers won’t even cover the state’s current budget deficit. This legislation will further encourage residents to join the exponentially growing group of Americans known as Ex-Illinoisans.”
“Most importantly, amending the Illinois Constitution to permit a graduated income tax gives the Illinois General Assembly alarming power over the state income tax rates at a time when Illinois’ finances are clearly troubled and politicians are more likely to make shortsighted policy decisions with far-reaching repercussions.”
“We have witnessed tens of thousands of taxpayers leave the state in the past few years since the temporary income tax increase in 2011. Illinois is facing a $10 billion budget shortfall by this summer. The state has the lowest credit ratings nationwide and by far the worst-funded government pension system. Illinois has recorded fourteen straight years of budget deficits and is in its tenth month without a state budget,” said Labell.
“If members of the Illinois General Assembly wanted to prove to taxpayers that they are acting in good faith to resolve decades of financial mismanagement, then there would be a bipartisan effort to amend or repeal the Illinois Constitution’s pension protection clause, one of the leading drivers of the state’s poor financial position.”
“Instead, however, legislators are once again focused on misappropriating billions of dollars from taxpayers by attempting to appease the public’s calls to ‘Soak the Rich!’ without letting them in on a little secret. The fact is, tax rates can be altered, promises from the government can be broken, and there is no reason to believe that Springfield won’t come for your wallet if Illinois’ financial fiasco continues unabated,” said Labell.
“Soaking the rich today opens the door to plundering everyone else tomorrow. Illinoisans must understand that the state needs to cut spending and undergo systemic reforms. Resorting to a graduated income tax will only put more power in the hands of a legislature that has run amok with Illinois’ tax dollars for decades. Taxpayers should contact their legislators and demand that they reject the passage of HJRCA59 and HB689.”
View as PDF Chicago—Last week, Illinois Senate President John J. Cullerton (D-Chicago) proposed legislation that would have established a new tax on Illinois drivers per miles traveled on the state’s roads, but a burst of public outrage and fierce opposition to the plan stalled Cullerton’s new tax for now. Taxpayers United of America (TUA) immediately led the charge against Cullerton’s driving tax, labeling the proposal blatant highway robbery of Illinois taxpayers.
“Taxpayers are outraged that Sen Pres. Cullerton, one of the most powerful politicians in Illinois, wants to extract more tax dollars from them while he and his colleagues in Springfield are currently misspending billions of dollars and intent on squandering billions more,” said Jared Labell, TUA’s director of operations. Labell appeared on numerous television stations denouncing Cullerton’s new driving tax, including WGN Chicago, KHQA 7 Quincy, Fox 2 St. Louis, & WQAD 8 Quad Cities.
By Friday afternoon, less than forty-eight hours after the story broke on April 13, widespread denunciation from the public led Cullerton to back off of his support for the measure, commenting on his official Facebook page, “Thank you to everyone for weighing in on ideas for how to fund road construction in Illinois. I filed legislation to start discussion and debate and get feedback on how the state could replace the gas tax. I’ve received a lot of constructive feedback that will help shape future policies. I do not intend to move forward with SB3267.”
The proposed Motor Fuel-IRIDE legislation, SB 3267, sought to monitor car odometer readings or install tracking devices in vehicles driving on Illinois roads to tax motorists per miles driven beginning July 1, 2017. Drivers would have been tracked and taxed per mile or had odometer readings checked under the proposal, or if the very real privacy violations concerned drivers, then there was an option to pay a 1.5-cent-per-mile tax at a base rate of 30,00 miles traveled annually, totaling $450. Yet another monstrous government administrative agency – the Illinois Road Improvement and Driver Enhancement Commission – would have been created to oversee the system, as well as an entire bureaucracy to implement and execute Cullerton’s highway robbery scheme.
“People still travel to work despite layers upon layers of local, state, and federal taxes,” said Labell. “With Illinois in its tenth month without a budget and Springfield politicians eyeing taxpayers for a bailout, Illinois drivers revolted against Sen. Pres. Cullerton’s new driving tax scheme and won. For the moment, at least, SB 3267 is stalled, but like most failed legislation in Illinois, if the politicians are trying to tax someone or something, there’s a good chance that the Illinois General Assembly will attempt to pass the tax another way or at a later time. Illinois taxpayers must remain vigilant to see that these proposals are soundly defeated for good.”
Taxpayers United of America’s (TUA) Director of Operations, Jared Labell, was interviewed by WGN about a bill that would tax drivers by the mile.
Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill that would tax drivers by the mile.
It’s called “I-Ride” and under the plan the state would monitor car odometer readings or install devices that track miles driven on Illinois roads.
Residents would be able to opt out by paying a 1.5-cent-per-mile tax based on 30,000 miles per year.
This proposal is from Illinois Democrat John Cullerton, who points out that car tax revenues are declining in Illinois. Cullerton says for Illinois motorists, the new fee would replace state gas taxes. Residents would get a refund on taxes paid at the pump.
The nonpartisan Taxpayers United for America blasted the proposal and is gearing up for a fight.
“It’s highway robbery,” said Jared Labell, director of operations Taxpayers United of America “It’s highway robbery saying you owe $450 for just being a driver anywhere in Illinois or be tracked anywhere you go. With 14 years of budget deficits. Over $111 billion in unfunded liabilities, they’re trying to find money anywhere they can.”
Senator Cullerton’s office says people will embrace this new way of collecting revenue once they learn about the rebate on taxes at the pump. And they say they understand privacy concerns, that’s why they would create a special commission to monitor the vehicle tracking system.
