April 15 was Tax Day, a painful reminder of just how high a tax burden Illinois families and seniors pay under Governor Pritzker and his allies in the General Assembly.
Let’s look at the record:
Illinois is no. 1 in the nation for the highest combined state and local tax burden.
No. 1 highest property taxes.
No. 1 highest cell phone tax.
No. 1 highest proposed corporate income tax rate.
No. 1 highest number of units of local government, all of which are taxing bodies.
Fourth-lowest GDP growth rate of any state since Pritzker took office in 2019.
$5 Billion in unemployment insurance fraud under his watch that Illinois taxpayers had to pay.
The governor and House Democrats refuse to do anything about our high tax burden. They are blocking legislation House Republicans have filed to allow working families to claim an income tax deduction on wages earned from tips and overtime pay.
They refuse to consider meaningful reform. I submitted one such bill to provide lasting property tax relief, House Bill 4626, which would lock in the value of your home to the original price tag. This locked in value would prevent homeowners from being punished with higher taxes if their home value increases.
In some communities, homeowners see double-digit percentage increases, with no warning. We have an opportunity to set a reasonable limit on total annual property tax increases. I have also proposed legislation that sets a 3% increase limit for all homeowners, and just 1% for seniors.
Meanwhile the governor is looking to raise more taxes through a variety of proposals including another attempt at a millionaire’s tax that would disproportionately punish success.
Working families and seniors are fleeing the state at record levels, and we need this governor and the majority party working to keep people in Illinois.
We have proposed specific solutions to help families keep more of their money. Between now and the scheduled adjournment of the Illinois House on May 31, Democrats should work with us to lower property taxes for families and seniors.
Republican Joe Sosnowski serves on the Illinois House of Representatives representing the state’s 69th District, which includes parts of Winnebago, Boone, McHenry and Kane counties.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Illinois families need tax relief | Opinion
Reporting by Joe Sosnowski, Special to the Rockford Register Star / Rockford Register Star
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