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* Last week, the Illinois Press Association sent out an urgent alert to its newspaper publisher members warning them that the governor was pushing a $42 million “newsprint tax” as one of his ideas for closing corporate loopholes. Newsprint is not currently taxed, and neither is ink or advertising. The IPA also included Sen. Bill Brady’s press release about the loophole ideas.
“The Governor seems to be addicted to the idea of these stealth tax increases on Illinois citizens – first a multi-billion dollar gross receipts tax that was soundly rejected by Republicans and Democrats, and now nearly another billion dollars in corporate tax increases that will harm every area of Illinois,” Brady wrote.
Yesterday, the Pantagraph penned a scathing editorial about the loophole ideas…
Illinois’ business climate already has a bad reputation. Gov. Rod Blagojevich isn’t helping matters with his hit list of “loopholes” he wants to close.
Don’t be fooled by any claims that he is going after “big business.” The impact of the governor’s proposal — if approved in its entirety — would go far beyond what most would consider “big business.”
The impact will be felt by costs being passed along to consumers.
The impact will be felt by small businesses for the work they do collecting taxes for the state.
The impact will be felt by businesses postponing or canceling purchases in Illinois.
The impact will be felt by jobs being eliminated or expansion being scaled back.
The impact would also be felt by newspapers, but that was never mentioned, of course. Instead, a whole host of other industries were discussed.
* Meanwhile, Sneed walks back her story from last week…
As per Sneed’s tip last week, will House Speaker Michael Madigan proceed today to pull off the legislative coup of the decade?
Budget analysts are poised to see whether Madigan has a deal to pass a budget acceptable to the House and Senate, and has mustered enough votes to pass a veto-proof package.
It ain’t gonna happen today. There may be some progress, but don’t expect a sudden coup.
* And Bethany Carson has a ministerial roundup…
“We’ve had the governor to our churches on several occasions, singing, what’s his favorite song, ‘Precious Lord, take my hand,’” Rev. Roosevelt Watkins of Bethlehem Star Church in Chicago said. “I think that if there’s no budget, absolutely, he’ll get a different reception. Not only him, but we’ll have Emil Jones, who we have a lot of lines with. All of them, they all will get a different reception.”
* More end of session stuff from Paul…
* AFSCME: Another 1-month budget measure needed
* Chicago Public Radio: state budget still deadlocked
* Editorial: Health care downsized
* Opinion: It’s health insurance premium day
* Ministers march on Capitol to call for more school funds
* Ministers seek more money for education
posted by Rich Miller
Tuesday, Jul 24, 07 @ 10:13 am
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Tax on newsprint seems reasonable to me. Why should newsprint be afforded a special status?
Comment by Ghost Tuesday, Jul 24, 07 @ 10:29 am
Who gets the dumber than a box of rox award….Sneed or Chicago TV new directors who sent crews to SPI to cover the budget vote?
BTW anyone seen Blaggo or the Blagomopes and mopettes?
Comment by Mr. W.T. Rush Tuesday, Jul 24, 07 @ 10:53 am
This is simply another example of what is wrong with our form of governance.
We create a series of institutions which of course need their own management systems which DO NOT ATTEMPT to control their costs. Budgets climb at rates far greater than inflation, while services promised are dispensed grudgingly,
The game the politicians are involved in with the willing accomplices of the media is an unquestioning acceptance for the need for more money for services witout a requirement to be more efficient in the $$ these institutions consume. This results is a chase for the least objectionable tax as well as the arguements as to who needs to pay their fair share.
When a special benefit available only to ‘my’ industry is threatened, then we bluster about fairness while other voices rise and say why this special treatment was allowed in the first place.
This diverts the discussion from the expenditures and then demonizes someone. The governor’s lastet demon is buisness, but sin taxes are popular. Who is next?
I’m waiting to see what the property tax assessors are going to do about property values. The taxing bodies are addicted to substantial annual increases in EAV. We are now in a real estate market which has been experiencing lower values for more than a year. Will they be honest and declare the lowered property values, or invent reasons to keep them artificially inflated?
Bets anyone?
Comment by Plutocrat03 Tuesday, Jul 24, 07 @ 11:10 am
If the ministers want more money for education lets give it to them by removing the exempt status of religious places. They haven’t been paying their fair share for years.
Comment by Gene Parmesan Tuesday, Jul 24, 07 @ 11:15 am
Bad editorials and stories Blago does get even but ahead. Look out TV and radio next. Rich, Blago is going to find a way to tax Blogs and services like CapitolFax. But remember read my lips no income or sales tax. Everything else is fair game to tax or fee to death under the Blago-Jones system.
Comment by keepin up with the jones Tuesday, Jul 24, 07 @ 11:21 am
Time to take away the term “loophole”.
Whenever someone wanting more tax money sees what they can paint as an inequity, they claim to have found a loophole.
The term itself suggests that someone is getting something for nothing. Baloney.
What Blagojevich wants to do is find more money for his dream world. What he is willing to do is stiff-arm businesses and industry that are paying their fair share based on our tax structures. What he is calling loopholes is what governments do to offset tax inequalities suffered under blanket tax policy. Loopholes are created in order to continue a balance needed to keep a business or industry healthy enough to compete.
Enough already. Stop believing the garbage oozing from the governor’s office. He doesn’t care where the money comes from, or who is hurt by taking money away from someone and putting into his pocket.
Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Jul 24, 07 @ 12:01 pm
Let’s be honest here, is Sneed ever right? She posts new bits that are days old and acts as if she is the only one “in the know.”
If it weren’t for Tom Dressen (I’m still confused why he gets ink there) Sneed would have nothing to write about.
Comment by Anderson Tuesday, Jul 24, 07 @ 12:25 pm
Someone should close all the legal loopholes Governor Blagojevich is using to fend off all the subpoenas he’s received to date.
Comment by State needs a good PowerWashing Tuesday, Jul 24, 07 @ 12:38 pm
shorter Pantagraph: “waaaaa! we don’t want to pay our share! raise taxes on our readers, instead!”
Comment by Jerry Tuesday, Jul 24, 07 @ 1:52 pm
So the Pantagraph is not pleased with a tax on newsprint, ink and advertising? Why should the media be exempt from such taxes? The Pantagraph should not be printing editorials about taxes that would directly affect their business, particularly after taking the moral high ground time and again regarding conflicts of interest. Newpapers like the Pantagraph have been raking in advertising profits for decades; now that they are threatened with a tax (and competition from web-based news outlets) they respond by threatening to pass the costs on to consumers. I have a better idea; evolve, adapt, and compete like the rest of the business world must. Don’t look up…the sky is falling.
Comment by Unspun Tuesday, Jul 24, 07 @ 9:01 pm
Go ahead and tax. No problem. The people won’t say much. But when new businesses choose to locate elsewhere and current businesses close or move, people are going to have problems finding jobs to pay for the taxes. People (and their money) follow the jobs.
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Jul 25, 07 @ 3:43 am