April 18, 2024
Read the report here.
April 17, 2024
Increased tax revenues and increased tax progressivity need to be further explored as policy solutions in Illinois. More specifically, the adoption of worldwide combined reporting and a state-level child tax credit, could help prevent infant deaths in our state.
February 28, 2020
Expanding and modernizing the Earned Income Tax Credit will put more money back in the pockets of the people who need it most. Recent polling suggests such policies would be popular, with 70% of respondents supporting a modernized EITC statewide and 80% supporting such an effort in Chicago. Read more
February 25, 2019
People with low and middle-incomes are financially savvy in ways that are often underestimated, but despite this are on thin ice financially. Despite doing all the right things, they are caught in a trap that is very hard to escape. Wages are falling behind and jobs are increasingly structured in ways that foster precariousness instead […]
November 21, 2018
The Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) released the sixth edition of its “Who Pays?” report on state tax systems. Voices’ policy analyst John Gordon detailed the findings of the report in a blog post. Illinois ranks #8 among ITEP’s “Terrible Ten” in terms of regressive state tax systems.
November 1, 2018
The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy says Illinois has one of the most regressive taxes in the nation, largely due to its flat income tax. In its annual “Who pays?” report, the institute said the poorest 20 percent of Illinois households pay 14 percent of their income in taxes because of the flat tax in addition to high sales and property taxes.
October 29, 2018
A new report from the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows the poorest 20 percent of Illinois households pay nearly twice as much in state and local taxes as the richest one percent. As a result, ITEP ranks Illinois as the eighth most regressive tax system in the country.
October 25, 2018
TERRE HAUTE -- Low-earning residents of Indiana and Illinois pay a greater share of state and local taxes than those in all other Midwestern states, and those in most states nationally, according to a new study by a non-partisan think tank.
April 30, 2018
According to the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy, Illinois ranks as the fifth-most-regressive state and local tax system in the country — and the most regressive in the Midwest. In Illinois, the top one percent of income earners pay just 4.6 percent of their income in state and local taxes, while the middle 20 percent of workers pay more than double that, coming in at 10.8 percent of income, and the bottom 20 percent of earners have almost three times the tax burden of the wealthiest, coming in at 13.2 percent.
January 9, 2017
Representative Lou Lang introduced a fair tax rate structure (House Bill 689), which would provide over 99% of income taxpayers with a tax cut while raising $1.9 billion to prevent more harmful budget cuts. Read more here
May 7, 2015
Governor Rauner has proposed to close this massive gap through damaging cuts to essential programs and services that strengthen Illinois families, children, communities, and our economy — including child care and early intervention services, K-12 education, afterschool, child protection and welfare, public health, higher education, health care, public transportation, and revenue-sharing with local governments. Cuts […]
January 21, 2015
As part of his campaign platform and “Jobs and Growth Agenda,” Governor Rauner has identified the need to “overhaul the tax code so that it’s fair to all taxpayers.” We couldn’t agree more. Considering all major state and local taxes Illinoisans pay, those who earn the least — less than $19,000 a year — pay […]
July 30, 2014
A number of high-profile U.S. corporations have, or are reportedly considering, corporate “inversions,” where they move their “headquarters” overseas to avoid paying U.S. corporate income taxes. Unless Congress acts, federal and state governments are set to lose, at minimum, tens of billions in revenue to support urgent priorities such as schools, roads and bridges, and […]
May 22, 2014
The more money you make in Illinois, the lower share of it you pay in state and local taxes. If that sounds unfair, that’s because it is. In fact, low- and middle-income workers pay, on average, two to three times the percentage of their income in state and local taxes that the wealthiest Illinoisans pay. […]
April 15, 2014
When adding up the effect of all state and local taxes, Illinois asks middle- and low-income households to pay a percentage of their income that is two to three times higher than the highest-income households pay. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can all pay our fair share to make sure Illinois has […]
March 20, 2014
Over the past five years, many profitable Fortune 500 corporations, including several based in Illinois, paid little or no state income taxes to any of the states in which they do business thanks to copious loopholes, lavish giveaways, and crafty accounting. That’s the conclusion of a new report, released by Citizens for Tax Justice and […]
March 12, 2014
Allowing current state income tax rates to expire will cause a revenue collapse that would threaten Illinois’ economic recovery, curtail the ability to support vital investments, and create more uncertainty over how the state will meet its many obligations, a new FPC report released today finds. Read the Full Report
February 27, 2014
There’s new evidence that many of the country’s biggest companies are getting a free pass on taxes, including several businesses headquartered here in Illinois. In fact, many of these profitable companies actually received money from the federal government. Read the Full Report
January 15, 2013
Tax policy is by its nature a contentious subject. In the end, individuals pay different proportions of their incomes in taxes to fund public services and a completely different matrix of individuals used those services. Given this dichotomy, establishing a definition of what constitutes the most fair way to levy taxes that is acceptable to […]
January 15, 2013
The Illinois State Budget is the state’s fundamental policy document. It defines what programs and services will receive financial support from the state. In a standard, non-overtime legislative year, Illinois adopts its budget on a fiscal year basis, beginning on July 1 of each calendar year and ending on June 31 of the next succeeding […]