Illinois Public Radio: Flat Vs. Graduated Income Tax

Obviously to be fair to taxpayers, Illinois needs the flexibility to tax lower levels of income at lower rates and higher levels of income at higher rates. The constitutional prohibition against that makes Illinois a national outlier. Of the 41 states in America with an income tax, 33 have graduated rate structures. Illinois is one of only eight that doesn’t. According to a national study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, that’s a primary reason Illinois ranks as one of three most unfair, regressive taxing states in the country — imposing tax burdens on low and middle income families which are more than double that of millionaires.

That’s not only unfair, it also makes no fiscal sense. Read more