Guest post. 35 Springfield politicians oppose fair taxation.
Guest post by MiC.
In Glen’s post today I read about thirty-five Springfield politicians opposing even the idea of putting an Illinois graduated income tax to a vote of Illinois residents. Writing legislation to oppose something that hasn’t even be put before Illinois’ voters? That seemed odd. So I read the text of the bill. Follow me through this laughable legislation:
For example:
In Glen’s post today I read about thirty-five Springfield politicians opposing even the idea of putting an Illinois graduated income tax to a vote of Illinois residents. Writing legislation to oppose something that hasn’t even be put before Illinois’ voters? That seemed odd. So I read the text of the bill. Follow me through this laughable legislation:
WHEREAS, Illinois’ income tax has been levied at a non-graduated rate since its inception in 1969; andThat’s right. We should all do things the same way we did them in 1969. I like orange shag carpet, black and white TV and transistor radios. Why change? But wait, it gets better.
WHEREAS, The current flat rate structure is a commitment from the Constitution of the State of Illinois; andI wonder why that doesn’t seem to matter where pension legislation is concerned for the sponsors of this bill?
WHEREAS, Illinois’ current flat tax rate provides a more predictable, sustainable, and enticing climate for businesses and individuals alike; andOK, now we get into the “this has been disproven by countless studies” territory.
For example:
The major study on the relationship between state personal income tax policy and entrepreneurship was commissioned by the U.S. Small Business Administration and published in final form in early 2012.Or this example:
[...]
In summarizing their findings, the economists stated: “We find no evidence of an economically significant effect of state tax [policy] portfolios on entrepreneurial activity. . .”
A September 2012 study by scholars at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation — the leading think tank conducting research on entrepreneurship — found that the number of Inc. [magazine]