* From the Illinois Policy Institute’s former news service…
Do Illinoisans support the idea of higher earners paying more taxes? It seems to depend on how the question is asked.
A poll by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University showed nearly three-quarters of those asked support a tax that “would be lower for lower-income taxpayers and higher for upper income taxpayers.”
When asked if they would support a tax that “would result in single filers earning over $17,300 to pay more in taxes,” support drops to 14 percent. The Illinois Policy Institute asked that question in a poll in late March and early April.
Jim Long, director of legislative relations for the Chicago-based think tank, said nearly everyone would support a progressive tax without the reality of math.
“It’s like asking a kid if they want ice cream for dinner. Everybody’s going to go for that,” he said. “We put [our poll] through the grinder of economics.”
The institute’s poll used figures based on State Rep. Robert Martwick’s stalled progressive income tax bill. The institute said Illinoisans would see taxes increase from the current 4.95 percent – raised from 3.75 percent last summer – based on a progressive rate of 5.84 percent kicking in at $7,500 in annual earnings.
The Institute loves to pick on Martwick’s bill and only rarely talks about the stuff about lowering property taxes, etc. The bill is dead. He couldn’t even get a single co-sponsor before tabling it last week. It’s not gonna be law.
But the new CTBA graduated tax proposal purports to cut taxes for 98 percent of taxpayers, which I’m betting polls better.
* Even so…
Federal vs. state, but still a decent point.
