State Rep. Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) is Chief Co-Sponsor of legislation introduced on Monday to withdraw the referendum from the November 3, 2020 General Election ballot supported by Governor Pritzker that would amend the Illinois Constitution to impose a Graduated Income Tax on all Illinois earners, both individuals and businesses starting on January 1, 2021.
The legislation, HJR 123, currently has a total of 43 sponsors in the Illinois House of Representatives.
“After the dust settles from all the economic devastation wrought by COVID-19, the last thing Illinois families and job creators can endure is another crushing income tax hike,” Rep. Sosnowski said. “We need to act now to remove this reckless referendum from the November ballot while we still have time.”
Studies indicate that small businesses are responsible for 60% of all new jobs in the state each year. Research shows more than 100,000 small businesses, which file as “pass-through” entities, would see tax hikes of up to 47% under the graduated income tax rates approved by the General Assembly last year, set to take effect should the ballot referendum pass in November 2020.
Small businesses organized as C-corps would face an initial 10% income tax hike, bringing Illinois’ corporate income taxes to the third-highest in the nation. Corporate income taxes could increase to the highest in the nation at 15.28%.
The typical Illinois family would have to pay anywhere between $286 and $1,056 more under a graduated income tax if lawmakers rely solely on increased revenue to offset income tax revenue losses from the COVID-19 outbreak.
The Illinois General Assembly returns to Springfield today to convene in a joint session. Rep. Sosnowski is calling upon all his colleagues to support passage of HJR 123 to remove the graduate tax referendum from the November ballot.
Please call Rep. Sosnowski’s office at (815) 547-3436 with any questions.