Illinois Valley Times

Sue Rezin, State Sen. of Illinois State Senate, Illinois General Assembly said on Jan 25th.

“Two years ago countless threats were made that taxes would be increased on the people of Illinois if they did not vote for the progressive tax,” Rezin said. “The voters rejected it anyway because rather than government they know what's best for their families. Yet here we are with the record revenues talking about increasing taxes on families again. In fact, the most recent report we've seen a positive growth in overall General funds for every month of the fiscal year in 2023 so far. Illinois' General funds base receipts are up $1.7 billion and if you include the one-time federal ARPA reimbursements received earlier in the year, the year-over-year increase improves to over $2 billion. It's time for tax relief, not tax increases. The proponents of this progressive tax are ignoring the numbers and they're ignoring the will of the voters. The Illinois Senate Republicans will not. Families in our state are already struggling to make their ends meet. They're struggling to keep up with inflation and the cost of living. Illinois families need real permanent tax relief like the package the Senate Republicans presented last spring. Illinois families do not want more taxes that they can't afford. They made that clear when they overwhelmingly rejected the previous Amendment two years ago. I'm proud to sign on to this resolution and protect them.”

This comes after many Republicans falsely claimed the Inflation Reduction Act is to increase taxes. The Associated Press explained there are no individual tax rate increases for anyone.

Sen. John Curran filed the resolution in opposition to a progressive income tax on Jan. 25. The Senate Republicans all signed on as co-sponsors.

House Republicans Fair Tax Act has gained criticism that says it unfairly benefits the rich, The Hill reported.

“Let’s say you’re a family of four. You need at least $50,000 a year to live before you can save a dime. Under this proposal, every dollar of that income is going to be taxed. On the other hand, if you’re making $1 million a year and you’re saving a portion of that, not all of that income is going to end up being taxed as a sales tax,” Frank Clemente, director of tax advocacy organization Americans for Tax Fairness, said in an interview in The Hill.

The resolution states the Senate Republicans are staunchly opposed to a progressive income tax in Illinois and they oppose the announcement that the Illinois General Assembly wants to the reconsideration any constitutional amendment intended to change the flat-rate income tax language in the state's constitution.

The 45th United States President passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that gave tax cuts for individual tax rates and for the highest-income earners. The Balance Money noted that the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Committee on Taxation explained the act would add $1 to $2 trillion to the deficit.

Senate Resolution 27 has a total of 19 sponsors and was referred to the Senate Committee on Assignments.