With just under two months to go until Election Day, and many Illinoisans preparing to cast their ballots by mail in the next few weeks, it’s no surprise that the fight over a state graduated-rate income tax has heated up.
The group I chair, Vote Yes For Fairness, is committed to fighting alongside our working families to create a more fair tax system where the wealthy finally pay their fair share and at least 97% of Illinoisans see no income tax increase. But opponents of the constitutional amendment needed to make the change are relying on misinformation and outright lies in their efforts to defeat it.
While the opposition has always been dependent on falsehoods — including their attempt to brand the graduated tax a “Jobs Tax,” which was roundly debunked last year — they’ve only become increasingly desperate in recent weeks.
This has been on full display as they’ve hit the airwaves and ramped up their messaging. One of their favorite claims is that the graduated tax will give legislators new power to levy taxes when the opposite is true. Currently, the legislature can raise taxes at any time, except now they’re required to raise taxes on everyone at the same rate, whether you’re a single mom working a minimum-wage job or the head of a hedge fund.
But under the graduated tax, the legislature will have the flexibility to raise taxes only on those who can afford it without punishing middle- and lower-class families.
The truth is, our current tax system forces the essential workers who have kept this state and this country going over the last few months — our nurses, grocery store clerks and janitors — to pay the same tax rate as millionaires and billionaires. That’s not only fundamentally unfair, it’s just plain wrong.
The graduated tax will set things right, ensuring at least 97% of Illinoisans see no income tax increase while only those making more than $250,000 a year will pay more. By updating our current outdated system to the tax system used by a majority of states and the federal government, we can generate additional revenue to fund our schools and other crucial programs our working families have relied on in recent months.
And despite the fearmongering opponents are relying on, only small businesses making more than $250,000 a year in profit will pay more under the graduated tax, which means at least 95% of small businesses in Illinois will either pay the same or less in taxes. That’s a small price to pay for stronger communities and a thriving customer base.
Opponents of the graduated tax will continue to spread their misleading claims and try to turn the discourse toward topics that aren’t relevant to the basics of the new tax structure, because they know there’s no defense for why a CEO pays the same tax rate as a nurse.
Why are millionaire and billionaire donors so desperate to defeat the graduated tax? Voters should take a look — it’s because they’re trying to protect their bottom line and the beneficial treatment they receive under the current tax system.
Vote Yes For Fairness won’t let these lies go unanswered. There’s simply too much at stake in this election.
Quentin Fulks is the chairman of Vote Yes For Fairness.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Get our latest editorials, commentaries and columns, delivered twice a week in our Fighting Words newsletter. Sign up here.
