Because… Taxes!
Friday, Oct 13, 2017 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Press release…
With the State of Illinois ranking in the top 10 states with the highest tax burden on it’s residents, state Rep. La Shawn K. Ford, D-Chicago, has introduced a measure to remove burdensome taxes on senior citizens when they are purchasing items they need to survive.
“We must do everything that we can to protect seniors on fixed incomes here in Illinois,” said Ford. “With the rising cost of living in addition to increased county, city, state, and federal taxes, it is becoming increasingly more difficult for vulnerable senior citizens to make ends meet.”
On Tuesday, Ford introduced House Bill 4111, a measure that makes senior citizens in the state exempt from being taxed on bare household health necessities. Among the items eligible for the tax exemption are fresh groceries, medicine, medical devices and items used for wellness in diabetic patients.
“People living on fixed incomes are trapped between a rock and a hard place,” said Ford. “This exemption from certain sales taxes for qualified senior citizens will provide real relief for the men and women who have worked hard and paved the way for future generations in Illinois.”
Wait. Aren’t those items already exempted from Illinois’ sales tax? From a spokesperson…
Currently, the goods that would be effected under HB 4111 are taxed at the local level at a rate of 1%.
So, it’s the local tax that he’s exempting. Some mayors will be pleased, I’m sure. He’s already picked up a few co-sponsors, including Rep. Theresa Mah…
“Senior citizens in our community have worked hard their entire lives to build up our neighborhoods and to bring their families up in our communities,” said Mah. “We must take preventative steps that protect elderly citizens who often live on a strict fixed income.”
I get the political angle here, but this would do to local governments what the state has been doing to itself for decades: Narrow the revenue base. Combine that with expanding the spending base (including by deferring pension payments) and we’ve wound up in a with a fiscal mess.
* And speaking of taxes…
At the state level, state Rep. Marty Moylan, D-Des Plaines, is a chief cosponsor of House Bill 4083. The measure would prohibit counties from imposing soda taxes in the future. He said people see right through such money grabs.
“Because none of the money is being used to offset the risks of diabetes or obesity,” Moylan said. “It’s all going to pay other things.” […]
HB 4083, which has a broad swath of support in the House with 37 sponsors, is stuck in Rules Committee.
C’mon. Rules hasn’t met since the last time they were in session. I’m betting this will get popped to the floor (so to speak) before election day.
- IllinoisBoi - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 3:05 pm:
Currently in the USA, older Americans are 47 times richer than households headed by people 35 and younger. And the gap is constantly widening. Perhaps we need tax exemptions for young adults.
http://money.cnn.com/2011/11/07/news/economy/wealth_gap_age/index.htm
- Steve - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 3:11 pm:
La Shawn K. Ford sees seniors as the only virtuous victims of Mike Madigan and gang. How strange , since seniors have a higher home ownership rate than millennials and retirement income isn’t taxes. Go figure.
- VanillaMan - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 3:13 pm:
Wait - you mean to say that as we age, we end up wealthier because our houses have been paid off, our kids are living on their own, we have savings, we don’t need to buy things to support our families and we aren’t paying the costs of daily work commutes, clothing and shoes - compared to younger people just starting out?
LOL
- Anonymous - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 3:13 pm:
2 more pieces of ingenious legislation that do nothing to solve real problems in Illinois.
- Six Degrees of Separation - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 3:14 pm:
Older Americans are probably 47 times as likely to vote, too. So there’s that.
- SAP - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 3:19 pm:
Apparently the senior citizens homestead exemption, circuit breaker, and total exemption of retirement income for seniors isn’t enough.
- MyTwoCents - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 3:19 pm:
The never ending exemptions for property taxes are part of the problem as well and this is the same sort of thing that happened with the sales tax exemption for feminine hygiene products. Pick something that looks good politically or appeals to a large bloc of reliable voters (like the elderly) get the good PR and leave everybody else holding the bag between higher taxes for the people not eligible for the exemption and/or lower revenue/decreased service for local governments. Plus it’s not like governments aren’t struggling with lower sales tax revenue as is. Such is Illinois…
- Anonymous - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 3:33 pm:
I guess a study needs to be done of those outragrously wealth senior and see what their income status was when they had a handful of kids in the house, a mortgage and were just starting out at their careers. Can anyone think about this? I would sure hope that the wealthiest folks aren’t the 20 somethings and the poorest are the 60 somethings! There goes your inheritance—-your birthday gifts, etc.
- City Zen - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 3:42 pm:
He’s giving them a progressive tax break to prepare them for progressive JB’s progressive taxation of retirement income. Hooray for progressive values!
- Romeo - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 3:42 pm:
Why not just exempt clothing, prescriptions, and groceries from IL sales tax alltogether, like Minnesota does? These are basic necessities that really shouldn’t be taxed. Of course, we’ll have to institute a progressive income tax.
- California Guy - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 3:51 pm:
Quit meddling in municipal affairs and just end the exemption of retirement income from state income tax.
- Earnest - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 3:59 pm:
Always great to hear Illinois political leaders show off their don’t-tax-but-spend-anyway positions. /s
- IllinoisBoi - Friday, Oct 13, 17 @ 4:39 pm:
==Older Americans are probably 47 times as likely to vote, too. So there’s that.==
Bingo!