Illinois
How the House Tax Proposal Would Affect Illinois Residents’ Federal Taxes
November 6, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was introduced on November 2 in the House of Representatives, includes some provisions that raise taxes and some that cut taxes, so the net effect for any particular family’s federal tax bill depends on their situation. Some of the provisions that benefit the middle class — like lower tax rates, an increased standard deduction, and a $300 tax credit for each adult in a household — are designed to expire or become less generous over time. Some of the provisions that benefit the wealthy, such as the reduction and eventual repeal of the estate…
GOP-Trump Tax Framework Would Provide Richest One Percent in Illinois with 69.4 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
October 4, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
The “tax reform framework” released by the Trump administration and congressional Republican leaders on September 27 would not benefit everyone in Illinois equally. The richest one percent of Illinois residents would receive 69.4 percent of the tax cuts within the state under the framework in 2018. These households are projected to have an income of at least $651,700 next year. The framework would provide them an average tax cut of $84,170 in 2018, which would increase their income by an average of 3.1 percent.
State Rundown 9/13: The Year of Unprecedented State Budget Impasses Continues
September 13, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This week, Pennsylvania lawmakers risk defaulting on payments due to their extremely overdue budget and Illinois legislators will borrow billions to start paying their backlog of unpaid bills. Governing delves into why there were more such budget impasses this year than in any year in recent memory. And Oklahoma got closure from its Supreme Court on whether closing special tax exemptions counts as "raising taxes" (it doesn't).
In Illinois 54.9 Percent of Trump’s Proposed Tax Cuts Go to People Making More than $1 Million
August 17, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
A tiny fraction of the Illinois population (0.8 percent) earns more than $1 million annually. But this elite group would receive 54.9 percent of the tax cuts that go to Illinois residents under the tax proposals from the Trump administration. A much larger group, 41.0 percent of the state, earns less than $45,000, but would receive just 3.9 percent of the tax cuts.
Trump Tax Proposals Would Provide Richest One Percent in Illinois with 56.1 Percent of the State’s Tax Cuts
July 20, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Earlier this year, the Trump administration released some broadly outlined proposals to overhaul the federal tax code. Households in Illinois would not benefit equally from these proposals. The richest one percent of the state’s taxpayers are projected to make an average income of $2,726,200 in 2018. They would receive 56.1 percent of the tax cuts that go to Illinois’s residents and would enjoy an average cut of $134,270 in 2018 alone.
State Rundown 7/11: Some Legislatures Get Long Holiday Weekends, Others Work Overtime
July 11, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
Illinois and New Jersey made national news earlier this month after resolving their contentious budget stalemates. But they weren’t the only states working through (and in some cases after) the holiday weekend to resolve budget issues.
State Rundown 6/28: States Scramble to Finish Budgets Before July Deadlines
June 28, 2017 • By ITEP Staff
This week, several states attempt to wrap up their budget debates before new fiscal years (and holiday vacations) begin in July. Lawmakers reached at least short-term agreement on budgets in Alaska, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, but such resolution remains elusive in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Voices for Illinois Children: Fair Tax Bill Introduced
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
Chicago Herald: New Chicago bag tax will boost revenue, but will it cut waste?
November 16, 2016
“Meg Wiehe, state tax policy director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a research group based in Washington, D.C., said these one-off taxes on goods exacerbate income inequality. The tax code can’t correct the problem, she said, but it shouldn’t make the problem worse. What’s more, if the tax works as intended, revenue […]
Standard-Times: Immigrants bring value to nation
October 18, 2016
“And though there are competing analyses about whether unlawfully present immigrants contribute more to the economy than they cost in education and health expenses, what cannot be denied is that, according to the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, illegal immigrants contribute more than $11.6 billion to state and local coffers each year and […]
Pharos-Tribune: Immigrants bring immense value to America
October 14, 2016
“And though there are competing analyses about whether unlawfully present immigrants contribute more to the economy than they cost in education and health expenses, what cannot be denied is that, according to the nonpartisan Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, illegal immigrants contribute more than $11.6 billion to state and local coffers each year and […]
Reboot Illinois: A look at state and local tax revenue from undocumented immigrants in Illinois
June 21, 2016
“Undocumented immigrants living in Illinois pay an estimated $743 million in state and local taxes a year, according to a report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The report provides state-by-state estimates of the current state and local tax contributions of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States as of […]
Pantagraph: Graduated tax amendment won’t be on November ballot
May 9, 2016
“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan but left-leaning group based in Washington, D.C., put out a statement Wednesday criticizing the department’s analysis for not taking into account the economically positive impact additional revenue generated by the proposal would have. The type of economic modeling the department used “is notoriously difficult — and […]
Herald and Review: Lawmakers unable to get graduated income tax on ballot
May 5, 2016
“The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan but left-leaning group based in Washington, put out a statement Wednesday criticizing the department’s analysis for not taking into account the positive economic impact additional revenue generated by the proposal would have.” Read more
ITEP Statement on Illinois Department of Revenue Analysis of House Bill 689
May 4, 2016 • By ITEP Staff
For Immediate Release: May 4, 2016 Contact: Jenice R. Robinson, 202.299.1066 X29, [email protected] Earlier today, the Illinois Department of Revenue (ILDOR) released an economic analysis of the tax changes included in House Bill 689, which would transform the state’s personal income tax from its current flat rate to a graduated-rate system. The following is […]
Herald & Review: Graduated income tax seen as help for budget woes
May 3, 2016
“Matt Gardner, executive director of the left-leaning Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, said adopting a graduated income tax would go “right to the heart of the state’s budget woes.” “There’s a chronic revenue need, and anything that raises substantial revenues is going to make it easier for the state’s budget process going forward,” Gardner […]
Cheat Sheet: 10 Worst States in America for Fair Tax Systems
July 13, 2015
Americans generally believe that higher income households should pay a greater percentage of their incomes in taxes than lower income households. Yet the exact opposite occurs. The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) finds the nationwide average effective state and local tax rates by income group are 10.9% for the poorest 20% of individuals […]
Chicagoist: Addressing Property Taxes And Gentrification Along The 606
June 5, 2015
Most gentrification narratives go vaguely like this: hipsters come to a neighborhood and open up fancy businesses and build fancy stuff and the original residents get pushed out. But often there is little focus on how exactly the original residents get pushed out. Some policy institutes like The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy consider most property […]
Voices for Illinois Children: Avoid Cuts, Choose Revenue
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 […]
Fiscal Policy Center: Fair For Whom? IL Taxes the Lowest Earners at the Highest Rates
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 […]
Public News Service: Illinois Poor Face Unfair Tax Burden
January 20, 2015
A new study finds Illinois’ poorest residents are paying almost three times more in taxes than the top one percent of earners. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, the state takes a much greater share of income from middle and low income families than from the wealthy. Read more A new study […]
WJBC: Illinois among most unfair tax states
January 16, 2015
“The Illinois system is the fifth most unfair in the nation, in terms of low-income people paying the highest proportion of their income in taxes vs. the wealthy paying the lowest, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Executive director Matt Gardner explains the consequences: “When you have a tax system that decides, […]
Capital Fax: Illinois has fifth most regressive state/local taxation in nation
January 15, 2015
A new study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) and the Fiscal Policy Center at Voices for Illinois Children finds that the lowest income Illinoisans pay nearly three times more in taxes as a percent of their income compared to the state’s wealthiest residents. The study, Who Pays?, analyzes tax systems in […]
Illinois Times: Illinois Broken Tax System
January 9, 2015
It adds up to the fourth-most regressive tax code in the nation, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan research group based in Washington, D.C. In thundering against the status quo, Rauner has raised expectations in a state that has traditionally seen tax hikes and overhauls when Republicans occupy the governor’s […]
The Register-Mail: Progressive Income Tax Better for Illinois
December 15, 2014
The flat in Illinois tax seems fair, but when grouped with all the other taxes people pay it is out of balance. According to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Illinois’ tax system (all taxes) is regressive toward low and middle income families with the third highest tax burden of all states. Read more […]
