NFIB State Director Mark Grant joined state Rep. Jim Durkin, Rep. Tom Demmer, and farm owner Kaylee Heap at a virtual news conference today to discuss the proposed progressive income tax amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot. Grant criticized Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other supporters of the progressive tax for failing to acknowledge that the amendment would have a lasting impact on Illinois’ small businesses.
“Many small businesses that haven’t already permanently closed due to the pandemic and economic slowdown, will decide it is not worth it to keep a business in Illinois,” Grant said. “If we think unemployment is bad now, just wait. If the progressive tax is passed, the effects won’t just be on the business owners, it will inevitability be on employees and families.
“We’ve been told the progressive tax will raise about $3.4 billion. This does not cover the state’s current $7 billion to $8 billion debt, or the additional billions created by the pandemic shut down. They will come back as soon as they can to change the brackets to raise taxes on middle-income earners.”
Grant said, “The political leaders who are responsible for our state’s abysmal financial situation are not motivated to stop the unbridled spending. They will continue their assault on taxpayers until we say enough is enough. Now it’s up to everyone, business owners, workers, and all other taxpayers to vote against this proposed tax hike.”
