When Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner was elected in 2014, he ran on an anti-tax platform. But is he trying to sneak a tax increase past voters that he never called for in last year's campaign?
When businessman Bruce Rauner ran for the top spot in Illinois, he made taxes a big focus of his election. Here's the exact message his campaign site said during the 2014 election:
For those who don't know, Pat Quinn was the Democratic Party incumbent at the time.
Well, what a difference a year can make. At a speech at the University of Illinois, GOP Governor Rauner called for an expansion of the sales tax. According to Jessie Hellmann and Ray Long with the Chicago Tribune, Rauner wants to expand the state's sales tax to the service economy.
"The idea of expanding the state's sales tax base to include services, such as on auto repairs, dog grooming or haircuts, has been debated in Illinois since the late 1980s," Hellmann and Long write. "Expansion efforts repeatedly have stalled in the face of heavy resistance, but Rauner outlined how he thinks Illinois is 'out of balance' with other states."
And there may be more changes in Illinois taxes. "Expanding the sales tax is one of the few items Rauner repeatedly has mentioned as a part of an unspecific overhaul of the entire tax code, saying Illinois can't 'just nibble around the edges,'" Hellmann and Long add.
It's interesting that in his first month in office, Rauner rolled out a service sales tax increase that he never shared with voters on the campaign trail in 2014. But announcing a service sales tax increase before the 2014 election would have probably handed a win to Quinn in a tight election. So perhaps that's why Rauner didn't mention it... until he was elected.
It's a similar story to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, whose 2010 campaign site said nothing about unions, and made sticking it to state unions his primary policy once elected governor.
David Rutter of the Chicago Tribune calls Rauner the best governor in the Midwest, although if you actually read his column, he notes that there are some pretty weak governors in the region (including Walker).
In the land of "Honest Abe" Lincoln, Illinois voters may wonder what other surprises Rauner has in store that he didn't share with the voters on the campaign trail.
John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Ga. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu.
from Chicago - The Huffington Post http://ift.tt/1E46FeT
via IFTTT
When businessman Bruce Rauner ran for the top spot in Illinois, he made taxes a big focus of his election. Here's the exact message his campaign site said during the 2014 election:
Illinois' tax system is holding the state back and hurting the middle class. Read below to learn more about what Bruce would do to improve Illinois' tax climate:
The Quinn-Madigan 67% income tax hike.
Out-of-control property taxes.
A broken tax system. Giveaways for big businesses with no regard for the small businesses that are the jobs engine of our economy.
The result? Among the highest taxes in the nation and the worst unemployment in the Midwest.
We need to completely overhaul the tax code; not just tinker around the edges. To do that, we can:
• Get rid of the Quinn-Madigan 67% income tax hike.
• Get rid of the Quinn-Madigan 45% corporate tax hike.
• Ensure your property taxes never go up if the value of your home decreases.
• Overhaul the tax code so that it's fair to all taxpayers.
For those who don't know, Pat Quinn was the Democratic Party incumbent at the time.
Well, what a difference a year can make. At a speech at the University of Illinois, GOP Governor Rauner called for an expansion of the sales tax. According to Jessie Hellmann and Ray Long with the Chicago Tribune, Rauner wants to expand the state's sales tax to the service economy.
"The idea of expanding the state's sales tax base to include services, such as on auto repairs, dog grooming or haircuts, has been debated in Illinois since the late 1980s," Hellmann and Long write. "Expansion efforts repeatedly have stalled in the face of heavy resistance, but Rauner outlined how he thinks Illinois is 'out of balance' with other states."
And there may be more changes in Illinois taxes. "Expanding the sales tax is one of the few items Rauner repeatedly has mentioned as a part of an unspecific overhaul of the entire tax code, saying Illinois can't 'just nibble around the edges,'" Hellmann and Long add.
It's interesting that in his first month in office, Rauner rolled out a service sales tax increase that he never shared with voters on the campaign trail in 2014. But announcing a service sales tax increase before the 2014 election would have probably handed a win to Quinn in a tight election. So perhaps that's why Rauner didn't mention it... until he was elected.
It's a similar story to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, whose 2010 campaign site said nothing about unions, and made sticking it to state unions his primary policy once elected governor.
David Rutter of the Chicago Tribune calls Rauner the best governor in the Midwest, although if you actually read his column, he notes that there are some pretty weak governors in the region (including Walker).
In the land of "Honest Abe" Lincoln, Illinois voters may wonder what other surprises Rauner has in store that he didn't share with the voters on the campaign trail.
John A. Tures is a professor of political science at LaGrange College in LaGrange, Ga. He can be reached at jtures@lagrange.edu.
from Chicago - The Huffington Post http://ift.tt/1E46FeT
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment