McHenry Times

Making it easier for politicians to raise taxes will only worsen Illinois' already dire financial situation, say critics of the so-called “Fair Tax” that will be on the ballot for voters in November.

“We need to look no further than the way Springfield politicians have treated taxpayers in the past,” said Andrew Nelms, senior adviser with Americans For Prosperity (AFP) Action-Illinois. “The state income tax was increased dramatically in 2011 and again in 2017, and just last year the legislature doubled the gasoline tax. That doesn't sound like the track record of people who deserve more tax power.”

The fair tax, Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker's signature agenda item since running for office, is also referred to as a graduated income tax and a progressive tax and would replace the state's current flat-tax system if voters approve a constitutional amendment that will be on the ballot as a referendum on Nov. 3. To learn more about the fair tax proposal, look for more information from Illinois state Sen. Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) on his upcoming virtual town hall meeting to raise awareness about this critical issue. 

AFP Action-Illinois Senior Adviser Andrew Nelms | Twitter

“We're slowly experiencing the worst-case scenario over the course of decades,” Nelms told the McHenry Times. “Politicians have made bad decision after bad decision, which has led us to be such an outlier in so many ways. We have the highest unfunded public pension liability, the lowest credit rating of any state in the nation and we have the highest combined state and local taxes. Illinois is also being identified as the least tax-friendly state in the nation.”

Both chambers of the Illinois state legislature passed the Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment No. 1 last year, clearing the way for the upcoming referendum question on the November ballot.

“It's more difficult to raise taxes under a flat tax because you have to raise taxes on everyone, whereas with a graduated tax the government can begin to tinker with it,” said Nelms. “The rates begin to creep, either slowly or quickly, and politicians can then divide and conquer and only raise taxes on one group of people at a time.”

The DuPage Policy Journal reported that Pritzker promoted his graduated tax rate proposal as a means to ease the burden on middle-class families because it would earn the state $3.4 billion in added revenue. But Nelms and other opponents argue that the fair tax will in fact adversely impact the middle class.

“Once they have the ability to start making these decisions about who they think can or can't afford it, ultimately this is going to affect the middle class because that's where much of the state's wealth lies,” Nelms said. “In order to raise more and more revenue, they're going to have to dip further and further down into the income stratification.”

Will County GOP Chair George Pearson prefers to call it an accelerated tax rather than a fair tax.

“I know people call it a fair tax or a progressive tax but it’s an accelerated income tax is what it is,” Pearson told the McHenry Times. “It’s a lie to say that this tax will only impact the rich. A good portion of people in Will County are middle class and they are the taxpayers who will be hit with this tax.”