Dupage Policy Journal

Laura Hois (R-Downers Grove) wonders how much more lawmakers in Springfield think Illinois taxpayers can take.

 “If the progressive tax passes, I fear Illinois will not recover from the hit to its economy,” Hois told the DuPage Policy Journal. “Illinoisans already carry the highest overall tax burden in the nation. We need more common-sense solutions, not more tax hikes, if we want a brighter future in Illinois.”

Hois is running in the 81st District against incumbent state Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville).

Despite Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s incessant claims that the tax will only mean higher rates for the state’s richest residents, Hois fears the tax will have a trickle-down effect on the entire state economy.

“If it passes, high-income earners and job creators will move to other states that don’t take them for granted,” she said. “Then, the tax burden will inevitably fall on middle-class families. Raising income taxes to an even higher, unspecified rate would be equivalent to asking people to write a blank check. This uncertainty, combined with continued spending, would drag down the economy, make it harder to find a good job.”

Indeed, a new Illinois Policy Institute (IPI) analysis finds that the state would quickly lose the equivalent of all the 45,000 jobs it gained in 2019 if Pritzker’s progressive tax were to become law. In all, IPI forecasts that some 56,399 jobs would be lost.

“A progressive income tax would most certainly hurt the economy,” Hois added. “Even Gov. Pritzker’s anticipated revenues aren’t enough to cover all of his promises. The progressive tax was tried in California, where the revenue realized was barely half what was promised. The state of Connecticut lost $10 billion and 360,000 jobs after imposing a progressive tax. The flat income tax rate is the only thing keeping Illinois competitive.”

Voters will have their say in early November when they go to the polls to decide if the state constitution should be amended to allow lawmakers the power to enact a progressive tax system as a replacement to the current flat tax.