Lt. Governor Warns of Large Tax Hike if Graduated Tax Amendment Fails
Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton.
Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton may have landed herself in hot water promising a tax increase of 20% on everyone if voters don’t approve a constitutional amendment in November imposing a graduated income tax in Illinois. Supporters say the legislature would increase taxes on the highest earners in the state and keep rates the same or lower for those who make less than $250,000 per year.
The Chicago Tribune reports Stratton, a former State Representative, made the comments Thursday at a virtual rally hosted by Vote Yes for Fairness, a political committee supported by Governor JB Pritzker.
“To adequately address the budget crisis under our current tax system, lawmakers will be forced to consider raising income taxes on all Illinois residents by at least 20% regardless of their level of income,” Stratton said. “We all know that our middle- and lower-income families cannot withstand a 20% tax increase and it will only serve to deepen the dramatic inequities that we already see across the state. It will drive out our residents and it will drive out investment in Illinois,”
Stratton did not mention a specific rate, but a 20% increase from the current 4.95% would be 5.94%. Illinois taxpayers have never paid a higher individual rate than 5%. It’s unlikely Stratton suggested a 20% rate. The highest rate in the country is in California, where individuals who make over $1 million are taxed at a 13.3% rate.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Republicans jumped on Stratton’s statement.
“Governor Pritzker’s team is so worried that his massive tax hike won’t pass that they have resorted to threatening taxpayers with...an even more massive tax hike. I believe the people of Illinois are too smart to be fooled by these outrageous scare tactics,” said Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider. “We deserve a state government that makes the same hard choices families make every day - to cut costs and live responsibly within our means. It’s clear that state government under the direction of Governor Pritzker and Speaker Michael Madigan are not capable of doing that. We shouldn’t reward their terrible decision-making with more of our hard-earned money.”
Earlier this week, Quentin Fulks, the chairman of the Vote Yes for Fairness Committee told The Illinoize that if the graduated tax amendment failed, it would likely result in a tax increase on everyone.