Illinois General Assembly

Rep. Tracy Opposes 50% Tax Hike on Illinois Families, Says State Must First Reform Spending Practices

For Immediate Release
May 31, 2009
Contact Jil Tracy
217-223-0833

Springfield, IL…State Representative Jil Tracy (R-Mt. Sterling) stood in strong opposition to a proposal that would increase state income taxes on individuals and businesses by 50%, citing the struggling economy and rising unemployment as major factors.

"All you have to do is take a look around Illinois to find reasons why increasing income taxes during this economic downturn is a horrible idea," said Rep. Tracy. "Businesses are closing their doors, homes are being foreclosed and over 600,000 people are without a job, that should tell you there is no room for residents to turn over more of their income to state government."

Senate Bill 2252 would raise individual income tax rates from 3% to 4.5%, and increase the corporate tax rate from 4.8% to 7.2%. The legislation would be effective on July 1, 2009 and sunset June 30, 2011, pumping somewhere in the range of $4 to $5 billion into state coffers per year. The proposal does nothing to reduce property tax burdens nor takes any steps to curtail state expenditures and make the necessary cuts.

This bill would not significantly reduce the budget deficit, and there are no reassurances that vital services will continue even if a tax increase is implemented. Rep. Tracy asserted that all year long she and the House Republicans repeatedly called for fiscal reforms and a serious attempt to curtail spending, but those in control ignored the efforts. "It is disappointing when we brought up good, responsible proposals that would require accountable spending practices for Medicaid and other programs, but every time the majority party felt it wasn’t necessary."

Rep Tracy continued, "In the last five years revenues have increased by 27%, but at the same time state spending far outpaced that at 38%. A family would not be able to treat their budget that way, and today it is clear Illinois no longer can either," said Tracy.
"By raising income taxes without taking the proper steps to require more fiscal accountability, we would simply be turning over billions in new revenue to the very same people who created a multi-billion dollar deficit. That is the wrong approach if we want to fix this system."

Senate Bill 2252 was defeated in the Illinois House by a vote of 42 to 74.