And, what’s more, at the same time, “purple” state Arizona has approved a new tax rate that would have more-or-less matched what Illinois proposed. Joint filers with income above that would face higher marginal tax rates, kicking in at 7.75% on income above $250,001. SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Illinois will vote on an amendment to its state constitution on the Nov. 3 ballot. Instead, I suspect that the ultimate reason for voters’ rejection of an amendment that promised a free lunch, is that years and years of fiscal mismanagement, without any genuine reform, meant the tax’s supporters had no credibility with the voters. Moreover, it is not separate from a ballot for other matters as clearly required by the Illinois Constitution. How And Why To Create A Compilation Of Your 2020 Trusts Now! As always, you’re invited to comment at JaneTheActuary.com! Advocates Want Park District to Add Plovers’ Nesting Site to Neighboring Protected Nature Area. Use the calculator below to see how the Fair Tax would impact your family. Currently, Illinois has a flat tax, which means that all income is taxed at the same rate, currently 5% for people and I think 7% for businesses. The “Fair Tax” amendment gives total control to the Illinois Legislature to make future changes to the Illinois Tax Code as they see fit. We won’t store any of your information. With about 72% of precincts reporting, around 290,000 more people have voted against the measure than for it, according to the AP. “Illinois is in a massive budget crisis due to years of a tax system that has protected millionaires and billionaires at the expense of our working families, a crisis that was only made worse by the Coronavirus pandemic,” he said. Clearly there was sizeable crossover among those voting against the amendment. Pritzker the first major defeat of his 22-month tenure. A woman walks past a pro Fair Tax yard sign near a polling place on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, ... [+] 2020, in Chicago. In a blow to Gov. 2020, in Chicago. The graduated income tax (the Fair Tax) will increase state revenues by asking people in the highest income brackets to pay more while keeping taxes flat – or even reducing the income tax burden – for 97% of the people living in Illinois. The outcome was stunning: despite months of ads telling voters that a “yes” vote would ensure that the wealthiest 3% of Illinoisans would “pay their fair share” and the rest of the state would see a tax cut, voters rejected the ‘Fair Tax’ amendment to the state’s constitution, which would have stricken from the constitution the requirement that the state’s income tax be levied as a flat percentage of income across all income levels. You may opt-out by. The amendment would have supported allowing the state government to impose a graduated-rate income tax structure that would tax different brackets of income at … It’s probably not a coincidence that Arizona also made the news two years ago when its voters approved pension reform of the sort that Illinois’ elected officials tell us is wholly off the table, unacceptable, not deserving of any consideration despite the state’s financial woes. What is Illinois’ path forward? The Fair Tax Amendment is on the ballot for Illinois voters to decide in November. To be sure, there was an element of Billionaire v. Billionaire in the campaigning for and against the amendment (see “Battle Of The Billionaires In Illinois: The Governor, A Hedge Fund Tycoon, $112 Million And The Income Tax Initiative That Voters Rejected”), but there was neither hoodwinking nor deception going on. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast), EY & Citi On The Importance Of Resilience And Innovation, Impact 50: Investors Seeking Profit — And Pushing For Change, 60% Of Workers Dipped Into Retirement Funds During 2020, The Misery Multiplier: Debt Owed To Family And Friends, Eldera: The New Global Intergenerational Mentoring Program, 7 Common And Costly Social Security Mistakes, PPP Potpourri - Trivia For Your CPA And Thee, Why Gen Xers Are Way More Worried About Money Than Boomers, Scared Of Retirement? “So unless it passes overwhelmingly or unless it doesn’t have enough support that it’s worth waiting for – if it’s in that sort of 50 to 60 range, we’re almost certainly going to have to wait probably two to three weeks no matter what.”. Illinois Voters Reject ‘Fair Tax’ Amendment Amanda Vinicky | November 4, 2020 10:41 am In a blow to Gov. In every other region of the state, the Amendment falls short from a low of 43.8% in Northern Illinois, 35.9% in Southern Illinois, 45.4% in Central Illinois, and 53.4% in the Collar Counties. Millionaires and billionaires will finally pay their fair share.”, On the other side: some of Illinois’ other wealthiest residents, including hedge fund manager Ken Griffin, as well as the state’s chamber of commerce, farm bureau and other businesses interests who say lifting the flat tax requirement is akin to giving politicians a “blank check.”, “The politicians have raised taxes twice in the last decade and we still have an $8 billion deficit,” reads a brochure sent to voters by The Coalition to Stop the Proposed Tax Hike Amendment. It’s the difference between a state where voters trust politicians, and one where they don’t. That lag time is in part because Illinois allows two weeks for ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 3 to arrive at local election authorities’ mailboxes. 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