By Ted Dabrowski and John Klingner -
In 2010, the Illinois Policy Institute reported that Illinois is a high-tax state with a tax burden in the top third of all states. The Institute cautioned that any tax increase would damage the state’s economic competitiveness. Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and the Illinois General Assembly ignored numerous warnings and used a lame duck session in 2011 to pass a 67 percent personal income tax rate increase and a 47 percent corporate income tax rate increase.
As expected, the tax increases failed to fix Illinois’ fiscal and economic problems. Illinois still has $9 billion in unpaid bills, the lowest credit rating in the nation and a political class that has stalled on passing wholesale fiscal and pension reforms. All these problems, along with the state’s unattractive tax code, contribute to one resident moving out of the state every 10 minutes.
While politicians in Illinois were raising tax rates, leaders in other states were reining in spending, lowering tax rates and solving long-term deficit problems. Data for 2011 state and local tax burdens is not yet available, but one thing is clear: Illinois isn’t just a high-tax state; it is an even higher-tax state than it was before. More HERE
Ted Dabrowski is Vice President of Policy at Illinois Policy Institute
John Klingner is Public Policy Research Assistant at Illinois Policy Institute
