Supporters of a plan to create a graduated income tax rate system in Illinois are conceding the race.
“We are undoubtedly disappointed with this result but are proud of the millions of Illinoisans who cast their ballots in support of tax fairness in this election,” said Quentin Fulks, who led the Vote Yes for Fairness campaign. “Now lawmakers must address a multibillion dollar budget gap without the ability to ask the wealthy to pay their fair share.”
The amendment required either 60% of those voting on the amendment to vote yes, or a simple majority of all ballots cast in the election must favor it. The most recent figures show the proposal to change the state’s constitutional requirement of a flat income tax rate lost outright by hundreds of thousands of votes.
With about 97% of the state’s precincts reporting, unofficial results show 55% of voters were against the proposal.
“It is clear that Illinoisans do not trust this legislature and this administration to spend more of their precious tax dollars without restraint,” said Illinois Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Todd Maisch. “We believe we’re on our way to hearing from the electorate that Illinois needs a lot more than tax increases to fix our economy.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker made the graduated income tax a signature piece of his 2018 election campaign. He spent more than $50 million of his own money to support the campaign. He has not issued a statement about the vote.
If approved, state budget experts estimated it would generate about $3.6 billion in additional revenue for the state while reducing or maintaining the current income tax burden on 97% of taxpayers.
Officials in Pritzker’s administration have said if the amendment failed, taxpayers could expect as much 20% increase in income taxes across the board by the legislature raising the rate from its current 4.95% to 5.95%.
Source: The Daily Chronicle
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