Illinois Taxing Its Way to Prosperity

posted at 10:32 am on January 12, 2011 by Jazz Shaw
[ Taxes ]    printer-friendly

Facing high unemployment, budgetary woes and obviously having heard a clear, clarion call from the voters in November, Illinois state legislators moved in the wee hours of the morning to… jack up their tax rate.

CHICAGO — With only hours left before new state lawmakers were to take over, Illinois’s State Legislature narrowly approved early on Wednesday an increase of about 66 percent in the state’s income tax rate.

The vast size of the increase, the rarity of such increases here — the last one came two decades ago — and the hour of the vote (in the wee hours of Wednesday) all reflected the urgency and depth of this state’s fiscal crisis.

Of course, it wasn’t just the personal income tax rate which rose. The Land of Lincoln decided to further stimulate job growth and attract new employers by raising their corporate tax rate from 4.8 to 7 percent. What could possibly go wrong?

I’ll let James Joyner at Outside the Beltway save me some time with his succinct summary.

If the headlines were calling it a “2 percent hike,” it would seem less dire. But that’s still a big bite, especially on top of all the other taxes people are paying. Much less during such bad economic times. And the means used to enact the increase — having it voted on by lawmakers on their way out the door and thus immune to the wrath of the voters — is unconscionable.

Just as a tip for you Illinois residents, I’m from New York. Our legislators in Albany have been using this tried and true tactic for years now, leading to the astonishingly successful, productive state of our state today. (Excuse me, but the Hot Air sarcasm meter just blew out its upper stop.)

So if you happen to live out there in Lincoln’s original stomping grounds, let me just suggest that it’s time for you to invest heavily. But not in the stock market. Invest in boxes, suitcases and moving vans. Get out while you can. You may want to consider Texas. I understand most of the jobs are going down there for some reason.

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