Guest post. 35 Springfield politicians oppose fair taxation. | Fred Klonsky

Guest post. 35 Springfield politicians oppose fair taxation. | Fred Klonsky:

Guest post. 35 Springfield politicians oppose fair taxation.

by Fred Klonsky

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:

WHEREAS, Illinois’ income tax has been levied at a non-graduated rate since its inception in 1969; and

That’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; and

I 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; and

OK, 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.
[...]
In summarizing their findings, the economists stated: “We find no evidence of an economically significant effect of state tax [policy] portfolios on entrepreneurial activity. . .”

Or this example:

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]