IPI: Rich to pay more under Pritzker fair tax
The conservative anti-taxers find rich folks who live alongside other rich folks in rich towns are apt to pay more under a graduated income tax
Illinois fat cats are likely to pay more under Gov. Pritzker’s fair tax, but amazingly fat dogs in Illinois won’t pay any income tax at all. (Shutterstock)
By Ted Cox
The Illinois Policy Institute is out with the stunning political news that rich folks who live alongside other rich folks in rich towns are likely to pay more under Gov. Pritzker’s “fair tax.”
Which is exactly how the governor intended it to work, isn’t it.
In an article posted last week, the IPI granted that “Gov. J.B. Pritzker claims only 3 percent of Illinois taxpayers will see their tax bills go up under his progressive income tax ballot measure.”
“Claims” is a loaded word there, as the IPI well knows, but we’ll grant it because otherwise that’s exactly what the governor has said about his proposal for a graduated income tax: only the top 3 percent of earners, making more than $250,000, will pay more taxes. The other 97 percent of state residents will pay less or see no change to their income taxes.
The IPI article went on to warn: “But that picture changes significantly at the community level.”
To that end, it zoomed in on Wilmette in the north suburbs of Chicago, where “nearly a quarter of all taxpayers, 22 percent, will see higher income taxes if voters approve Pritzker’s progressive income tax amendment at the ballot box in November 2020.”
It had a detailed breakdown, too: 39 percent of joint filers in Wilmette would pay more, because 1,446 would post incomes between $250,000 and $500,000, 729 would post incomes between $500,000 and $1 million, and 426 would post incomes above $1 million. Among single filers, 76 would pay more because they make between $250,000 and $350,000, an equal 76 would fall between $350,000 and $750,000, and 43 would make more than $750,000.
At One Illinois, we like to connect the dots, just as the IPI does. And, bear with us while we conduct this bold little bit of dot connecting, but it just so happens that all of these top-earning Wilmette residents — every single one of them — just happen to live in Wilmette, where a lot of other rich folks live.
Stunning, we know, but there’s no denying facts are facts — well, there’s no denying it outside the halls of Congress, the White House, and Fox News, that is.
Rich Miller’s Capitol Fax made note of this Tuesday, which is where we came across it, under the headline “Unclear on the concept.” Miller pointedly added: “Several Ricketts family members reside in Wilmette. So, yeah, that’s the whole idea of this thing.”
That’s Ricketts as in Todd Ricketts, by the way, one of the owners of the Chicago Cubs, who just this week played host to a fundraiser for President Trump at the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago. There, one can be sure, the issue of the rich paying more in income taxes in order to level the burden across society was not on the agenda.
It’s not hard to figure out why the IPI would cherry-pick a town like Wilmette to zoom in on the progressive income tax. If 97 percent of Illinois residents are going to pay the same or lower income tax under the plan, well then what about the noble people of Wilmette? Great googly moogly, 22 percent of those folks — almost a quarter! — are going to pay more.
The fair tax singles out Wilmette residents to get soaked!
No, not at all. It’s just that a higher percentage of rich folks live in Wilmette than in the rest of the state — which is how they like it and, hey, more power to them — so they’ll be paying more taxes.
We did a quick look at Illinois income on the statistical atlas.com website. It found that the 95th percentile of Illinois wage earners — that is, the top 5 percent — make at least $217,500 a year, which yes would seem to put the state on a pace where the 97th percentile would fall at about $250,000.
The website does a city-by-city breakdown looking at those earning more than $200,000, so some of these undeniably rich folks would not pay more under a graduated state income tax, but just as a quick comparison let’s point out that towns where those earning more than $200,000 make up a sizable chunk of the population include Plainfield, Naperville, Glenview, Elmhurst, and Evanston.
Those towns are not being targeted to pay more under a progressive income tax, but yes those residents making more than $250,000 are.
Bear with us again while we connect those dots, but that’s what makes it a progressive or graduated income tax, just like the system run by the federal government.
A deep dive into income data would no doubt show that residents of Chicago’s Gold Coast, those who live in mansions costing more than $10 million, and anyone living in a house along the 18th hole of a golf course are all more likely to pay more under the fair tax — even though those living along the 18th hole already bear the additional burden of broken windows!
But that’s not specific enough, which is why we’ve had the tech monkeys at One Illinois devise the Sense-Us Illinois Income Hair-Splitter (trademark), a hypermegawatt intuitive AI device that breaks down income for various demographic groups, no matter how unlikely.
For instance, an astounding 99.7 percent of people buying a Lamborghini with cash in Illinois will pay more taxes, but just 5.3 percent of those visiting a Lamborghini showroom will pay more.
An amazing 29.8 percent of Chicago Cubs full-season-ticket holders will pay more, but just 3.7 percent of those who bought one single ticket to a White Sox game this year will.
A jaw-dropping 64.8 percent of those picking up a dinner tab at Alinea in Chicago will pay more, but just 0.9 percent of those dining at Marko’s Fish House in Madison will.
A knee-knocking 94.5 percent of those openly identifying as “fat cats” will pay more, but not a single Illinois fat dog will pay any taxes at all — this year or any year.
And a not-at-all-surprising 100 percent of Richard and Elizabeth Uihleins in Lake Forest and John Tillmans who just happen to be chief executive officer at the IPI will pay more if voters endorse a change in the state constitution and a graduated income tax next year.
Which is really what the IPI’s deep dive into residential income is all about.