Friday, March 19, 2004

Pat Quinn's referendum on a 6% rate for income >$250,000 passes

Cal Skinner in the Illinois Leader covered Pat Quinn's Taxpayer Action Amendment's successful election on Tuesday in this article, where most voters approved of the plan that would:

a) impose a new 6% income tax rate on any income earned over $250,000 (currently we have a flat 3% income tax rate on all income, so there would be an additional 3% tax on income over $250,000

b) put half that money into an education trust fund that would distribute an equal grant to each school on a per-pupil basis (about $200 per student)

c) put half that money into a fund that would send a check to every homeowner as a type of property tax rebate (projected to be about $200).

I voted for it, but I think it isn't fair to renters, and I'd rather fund a higher personal exemption for lower-income workers than a home-owner check with that extra money.

This requires a constitutional amendment, so I hope the General Assembly puts an amendment like this on the November 2004 ballot. I'd campaign for it.

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