What You Should Know:
For more than a decade LWVIL has been educating voters about the merits of a graduated income tax to help support the Illinois budget. It makes sense that people who earn more can afford to pay a bit more versus putting the burden of supporting state government on the backs of those with lower or fixed incomes.
Why You Should Care:
State Government can only be supported by its citizens. If you value such every day benefits as roads, streetlights, security and protection, a court system, or public education, then you should want to support state government with a fair and equitable tax system.
Call to Action for Graduated Income Tax
To: LWVIL Members
From: Kathy Nesburg, Fiscal Policy Issues Specialist
Syvia Tillman, VP Issues, issues@lwvil.org
Date: April 24, 2008
Re: Time for Action – Graduated Income Tax
ACTION NEEDED: Contact your State Representative and Senator in their home legislative offices prior to April 29, 2008 when the Illinois Legislature reconvenes. Ask them to pass a resolution which will put the question of whether Illinois should amend its Constitution to allow an income tax with a graduated rate schedule on the ballot at the November 4, 2008 election.
BACKGROUND: The League of Women Voters has a position in support of a progressive income tax with a graduated rate schedule. This cannot be done without amending the Illinois Constitution.
In the 1990’s LWVIL chaired a statewide coalition of organizations called Progress Illinois which was formed to spearhead a campaign to place a constitutional amendment for a graduated income tax on the November 1994 ballot. LWVIL and local Leagues mounted an extensive public education and lobbying campaign to generate support for a graduated income tax amendment. The General Assembly did not call the amendment for a vote.
This year there are several proposals to amend the constitution to allow a graduated income tax. The question must be read in full on three different days in each house and pass both houses by a three-fifths vote by May 4, 2008 in order to be placed on the ballot on November 4, 2008.
SJRCA 0092, Senate Amendment No. 2, would remove the provision that the income tax be at a flat rate. This would result in the Illinois Constitution having language that would allow either a flat rate or a graduated rate. This language would be similar to the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
HJRCA 0042 would tax incomes under $250,000 at 3% and incomes over $250,000 at 6%. This resolution contains very specific language that does not belong in a constitution, but the proposal does serve as an example of a graduated income tax.
There are other proposals calling for a graduated income tax, but none of them have made it out of committee. The question will be the subject of negotiations and debate during the next week. Your legislators need to hear from you that the income tax needs to be made more progressive and that you support putting the question on the November 4, 2008 ballot. To find your representative’s name and contact information visit, www.ilga.gov.