Rep. Keith Wheeler (R-North Aurora) opposed a graduated income tax hike along with other House Republicans during a press conference on Wednesday.
Wheeler signed on to co-sponsor House Resolution 153 along with all House Republicans, which opposes the graduated income tax hike Gov. J.B. Pritzker has been promoting. During the press conference, a reporter asked about a non-partisan Southern Illinois University poll that said a majority of voters supported the graduated income tax hike.
"That 56-percent number doesn't reach the threshold of 60 percent to get this across the finish line," Wheeler said. "There's a problem there."
Wheeler said he does not believe that the polling actually reflects any actual real rates, so nobody could truly understand how it would affect them.
"If it was just a millionaires tax, which was presented a couple of years ago, that might be one thing," Wheeler said. "If it's going all the way down to the $17,000 level, hold the poll."
Pritzker wants to institute what he is calling a "fair tax." The governor has proposed changing the state's constitution to include a graduated income tax that would mean higher taxes for those who make more money. The existing law is for a flat tax.
To get that constitutional amendment question to voters, supermajorities in both chambers must pass the measure. Democrats have supermajorities in both the House and Senate, according to Illinois News Network.
The resolution outlines that Illinois is the sixth most populous state in the country, but that it needs to move forward from the "fiscal irresponsibility and political malfeasance" that has occurred in years past.
"Illinois lawmakers, now more than ever, must act in order to ensure that the best days for Illinoisans are ahead of us; the time of kicking the proverbial can down the road is over, and the time of inaction has passed and is no longer a convenient option," the resolution states.
Illinois must "unequivocally reinforce" that it is a "truly forward-looking" state, according to the resolution.
The resolution states that a graduated income tax would create added burdens as well as dissuade economic prosperity.
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