Taxing Tuesday: the Governor of Illinois Talks Taxes (and Meep Does Her Taxes)
by meep
GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS CALLS FOR HIGHER TAXES
Op-ed by Gov. Pritzker Wealthy Illinoisans (like me) should pay more income taxes
To put Illinois back on firm fiscal footing, we must make some hard choices among three feasible options: 1) raise income tax rates on everyone by raising the flat tax; 2) cut schools, universities, public safety, mental health and addiction treatment drastically; or 3) raise tax rates only on the wealthy while giving the middle class a tax break. I choose option 3, the fair tax.
What utter bullshit.
There are so many other options than what he put above (and I’ll talk about #2 in a moment).
For example, given that the state constitution needs to be amended to allow for graduated income taxes, why not amend it to allow changes to pensions, hmmm? That’s a huge portion of the cost pressure.
Let me explain why I support a constitutional amendment to change our tax structure to protect the middle class.
The fair tax is what a vast majority of states and the federal government use. But in Illinois, we don’t. Our wealthiest residents have enjoyed 50 years of the middle class and working class paying a higher tax burden while the richest pay a much lower tax burden. In fact, today in Illinois, the lowest earners in our state pay 14 percent of their income in taxes while the wealthiest people in our state pay only about 7 percent.
I don’t believe this is fair. Wealthy people like me should pay more to help balance our state budget.
I asked the General Assembly to move the constitutional amendment because it would allow us to more permanently stabilize the state’s finances, pay our bills, make our pension system more secure and invest in the future while allowing middle-class families to pay less.
Yeah, I have an idea for making pension systems more secure. Allow pensions to be partially variable, and no automatic 3% COLAs at the very least.
We also have a serious problem with property taxes. They are simply too high, and they suppress property values for residents and businesses alike. That’s why in my first year in office, I’ve taken important steps to alleviate this tax burden by attacking three of the biggest components of your local property tax bills.
The bulk of homeowners’ local property taxes—nearly 60 percent on average—goes to fund local schools. If the state does more to pick up its share of school funding, property taxes can go down. So I began to make that shift by increasing the state’s share of school funding.
Uh huh, and that school funding will come from… higher taxes. On everybody.
The next-largest property tax driver is municipal and first responder pension funds—which is why I insisted on passing landmark pension reform to consolidate police and firefighter pensions. This will improve investment returns and lower costs, and that means a lower property tax burden for homeowners.
That is not going to reduce costs enough to make a difference. This is bullshit. The only way to seriously lower those pension costs is to allow pension benefits to be variable or cut.
As for threatening cuts:
If voters reject progressive income tax, Pritzker promises to cut state spending
I know this is supposed to be a threat (take it all out via cuts, as opposed to higher taxes AND cuts, which at least would be toward something), but seriously, a lot of people are fine with cutting state spending.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the state’s next budget will be balanced, but said if voters don’t approve a progressive income tax in November, he would have to reduce state spending across the board in future years.
The governor is preparing to deliver his budget address later this month. He said Friday that the progressive tax was needed to address “income inequality” and increase state spending on things like education.
….
On Friday, Pritzker told Politico at a conference in Washington D.C. that we would present a balanced budget. However, if voters don’t approve the progressive income tax this November, the governor said 15 percent cuts in state spending would be needed across the board.“We have to pay interest on our debt and all the other things that are fixed and then you get to what people call discretionary spending and that’s where you’d have to make all these cuts,” Pritzker said. “And these are the things that affect people’s lives, particularly the middle-class and working families across the state.”
Illinois’ most recent budget called for spending about $40 billion dollars in state money. The state spends another $40 billion of federal tax money.
Yeah, whatever.
MEEP DOES THE TAXES
Last week, on Thursday, I felt like a train hit me. So I decided, what the hell, let me do my taxes. I’m laid up in bed anyway.
So, here are the results, plus what I reported last year:
Effective federal income tax rate:
2019: 9.3%
2018: 9.4%
2017: 10.2%
2016: 11.4%
2015: 9.9%
2014: 9.7%
2013: 10.8%
My CT taxes are 5.1% and NY taxes 0%.
The total refunds I got were 16% of the tax I actually paid to all three entities. The most annoying thing to me is that it’s difficult for me to avoid over-withholding state taxes. The CT refund was the largest, and to say that annoys me greatly is an understatement — and there I overpaid by 27% — given it is supposed a flat tax, I cannot figure out why they make me overpay each year by so much. Unfortunately, I can’t do much about the state withholding. My federal taxes were overpaid by only 3%, which I figure is close enough to zero for practical purposes.
Bah.
To repeat myself from last year, let’s get rid of tax withholding.
STATE INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX
From the Tax Foundation: State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets for 2020
And here is a CBS news piece on federal tax rates.
TAX STORIES
- To Compete With Space Force, Democrats Propose Space IRS
- Crain’s Forum: Taxed to the Max? – looking at Illinois’s abysmal property tax situation
- Gas prices and taxes: Depending on your state, price per gallon can be 40 cents higher
- Business leader warns Chicago property tax shifts could ‘shock’ Illinois into recession
- Office of New York Comptroller: Local Sales Tax Collections Up – oh, so the SALT cap isn’t important. ;)
- Michigan seniors angry after Whitmer keeps pension tax in new state budget
- Maine eyes repealing income tax on public employee pensions
- The Civic Federation of Illinois: 2017 Effective Property Tax Rates in the Collar Counties
- Governing: Massachusetts Bets Big by Raising Ride-Sharing Surcharges
- Roll Call: Is a tax-by-mile system ready to replace fuel taxes?
- Dean Baker at Counterpunch: The Left Becomes Center: Financial Transactions Taxes and Beyond
- TurboTax and Others Charged at Least 14 Million Americans for Tax Prep That Should Have Been Free, Audit Finds
- Trump wants to extend his tax overhaul. What it means for you – I wish he’d extend SALT cap to zero. That would be fabulous.
- Warren doesn’t rule out supporting other candidates’ tax plans – Wow, that’s mighty big of her.
- New Business And Occupation Tax In Washington State
- NYC Billionaires’ Row Could See Property Taxes Quintuple Under Proposed System – I am skeptical. To pull a quote: “There are many, many New Yorkers whose net worth is tied up mostly in their real estate, and if their property were assessed at market value, it would be like serving them an eviction notice,” – now, the pols might be fine with that. But the real estate market would not.
- How Trump’s long-promised middle class tax cuts might happen, despite deficits – it already happened, but whatever.
- Grocery tax repeal rejected: ‘[Legislators] don’t care what the people of Idaho want.’ – pols want money. How can the people not understand that?
- Poll: New Yorkers support new taxes on ‘ultrawealthy’
Everybody is always in favor of “tax that OTHER guy”. And then that OTHER guy goes elsewhere, and you find out that you’re now the OTHER guy. Because you’re what’s left.
TAX TWEETS
I am backing
Jackson_Carlaw</a> because of his policy ideas: <br><br>Flexible Childcare for parents<br> Abolish Council Tax for Apprentices<br> Shared Ownership for first time buyers<br> 2000 more teachers<br> Redress SNP tax hikes<br> No SNP Car Park Tax<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/teamjackson?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#teamjackson</a> <a href="https://t.co/3MBpsRGeKl">pic.twitter.com/3MBpsRGeKl</a></p>— Meghan Gallacher (
GallacherMeghan) February 11, 2020
Jackson Carlaw is a Scottish politician.
This CEO asked his local lawmakers to raise his taxes in order to help those experiencing homelessness pic.twitter.com/Moo8UKpflG
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) February 11, 2020
Now here’s the deal – he made living more affordable for his employees by paying them more. That sounds a hell of a lot more effective than raising taxes on the company.
I’m doing this early in the morning, so I’m seeing tweets from around the world (the U.S. dominates twitter later in the day). I’m seeing some kind of dispute over taxes paid (or not paid) by a news channel in the Philippines.
OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF ABS-CBN SHOWS THAT THE NETWORK HAS NO UNPAID TAXES WITH BIR.#IStandWithABSCBN #NoToABSCBNShutDown pic.twitter.com/TOXhBniG9w
— Pinoy Big Brother (@PBBOTSOabscbn) February 11, 2020
Abs Cbn didn't violate anything.
— schneiderjovellano (@sean_jovellano) February 11, 2020
Abs Cbn is paying their tax! #IStandWithABSCBN pic.twitter.com/YbzAnwVqdY
I have no idea if these are bots or if there’s a reason people not working for the company would take a specific side on the matter.
IRS: You owe us $1,237 in back taxes. How do you intend to pay?
— HoodNerdGamingTv (@HoodNerdGaming) February 11, 2020
Me: I don’t..
IRS:
Me: pic.twitter.com/RKTlIOUD6h
Hey MAGA squad. When you do your taxes look at your W2 and see how much Social Security you paid. Trump decided he’s going to keep it instead of paying it back to you as promised in retirement.
— Joel Postman (@jpostman) February 11, 2020
Nice work!#promisesbroken
PMNarendraModi_</a> Number of Taxes and their forms and formuties are basick resons of your defeat Merchants harreshment wasting time in compliance for the same</p>— Vimal Kumar Jauhari (
VimalJauhari) February 11, 2020
Everyone be amped over taxes but that shits just hella annoying to me.
— The Memorist (@__BrieeSwaveyy) February 11, 2020
Look, kid, I am not particularly amped over taxes.
Me in 2019: “haven’t did my taxes I’m too turnt up” Me in 2020: “BITCH run me my money aye run me my moneyy”
— ThatGirlCece (@BucksSoRoyal) February 11, 2020
Ok, I guess that person is amped over taxes.
I mean, I’m more annoyed that I overpaid by 16%.
This is troubling.
— Susan A. Kitchens (@susankitchens) February 11, 2020
He made a promise to release them—he either keeps his promise or he does not.
He kept promising to release taxes in 2016 cycle and then did not.
In 2016, we got no medical/finance disclosures from Trump; MAJOR issues w both.
We must keep this standard. https://t.co/DuDxlpTlaR
It's important that we stop eating meat and driving cars in order to reverse Ring Change!
— Jacques Brisant (@JacquesBrisant) February 11, 2020
And we need to impose extra taxes to create a Ring Sustainability fund. #RingChangeIsReal#RingEmergency#RingCrisis https://t.co/X3ViPbEWM1
I am NOT gonna pay for Saturn’s rings… tax the people of Saturn for that!
See y’all next week!
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