Chicago-based Heartland Institute Reacts to Anniversary of Illinois Tax Hike

Published January 12, 2012

One year ago today, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signed a tax package that raised personal income taxes by 67 percent and corporate taxes by 46 percent. The following statements from budget and tax experts at The Heartland Institute – a free-market think tank – mark the anniversary and may be used for attribution.

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“One year after these outlandish tax increases, Illinois has seen its credit rating dropped to the lowest in the nation by Moody’s Investor Service. Just a few days ago the state’s budget director, David Vaught, told The Associated Press: ‘Our revenue growth is not enough to keep up with pensions and Medicaid. It creates a squeeze for everything else.’

“So $7 billion of tax increases later, Illinois state government has gained virtually nothing. I wonder if this state’s governors and lawmakers will ever realize that no amount of revenue will ever be enough to overcome reckless, corrupt, and pandering spending.”

Steve Stanek
Research Fellow, Budget and Tax Policy
The Heartland Institute
Managing Editor
Budget & Tax News
[email protected]
815/385-5602


“A year later and as many predicted, each of the tax hikes passed in Illinois in last year’s lame-duck session did little to fix the state’s woeful financial position. During that time the unemployment rate has jumped to 10 percent, the pension system has not been fixed, and the state’s budget is more than $8 billion in the red.

“Even so, spending in the state continues to go up while more and more people become unemployed due to the damaged economic climate in the state. The state’s budget morass will only get worse as a result of destructive tax policy. Instead of handing out corporate welfare to companies like CME and Sears the state should roll back the tax increase to help everyone in the state.”

John Nothdurft
Director of Government Relations
The Heartland Institute
[email protected]
312/377-4000


The Heartland Institute is a 28-year-old national nonprofit organization with offices in Chicago, Illinois; Washington, DC; Austin, Texas; Tallahassee, Florida; and Columbus, Ohio. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.