Some Think Income Tax Hike Was Right Move
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WBBM/CBS) -- They're out there, but they're not very loud – people who actually think Illinois lawmakers are doing the right thing by raising income taxes.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Dave Dahl reports, Don Moss of United Cerebral Palsy says the state cannot just cut its way out of its budget crisis.
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"If you were to cut back on all the foolish spending the state does, it still would not meet the needs to protect its most vulnerable citizens," Moss said.
In the planning stages, the tax hike was not universally unpopular.
In April of last year, an estimated 15,000 people gathered on the streets outside the statehouse to demand an income tax hike.
Crying "Raise our taxes!" and "Show some guts!", demonstrators voiced their opposition to cuts in state spending, particularly in education. It was one of the largest rallies in the history of the Illinois State Capitol.
Paul Caprio, the director of conservative political action committee Family-Pac, says the tax hike only proves that labor unions are really in charge in Illinois.
"Pat Quinn may be the indentured servant of these public employee unions, and unable to lift a finger to get this state back on a course of fiscal sanity," Caprio said.
The hike boosted the corporate income tax rate by nearly 50 percent, from 4.8 percent to 7 percent. In addition to the corporate income tax, many businesses in Illinois pay a "Personal Property Replacement Tax" of 2.5 percent of income, bumping their corporate tax rate to 9.5 percent.
Backers hope the tax hike will help plug a $15 billion budget hole.
Caprio is already looking for ways to vote out the legislators who voted in the late-night, last-minute tax increase.
