by Aon Hussain With the world watching, the Republican controlled House and the Democrat controlled Senate and President came to an agreement on the debt ceiling that simultaneously raised the debt ceiling and ensured more than two trillion dollars in spending cuts. While this showdown was combative, another duel between Democrats and Republicans looms [...]
Tag Archives: taxes
Letters from Illinois Citizens Hurt by Increased Taxes
by Aon Hussain Throughout the state, letters to the editor show that concerned citizens are displeased about various increases in taxes. Earlier this year, Governor Pat Quinn enacted a risky 67% income tax increase that would help pay for the state’s debt – estimated to be around eight billion dollars. Unfortunately, the debt remains almost [...]
Illinois Begging Companies Not to Leave
Governor Quinn recently announced a new $7 million “business investment package” that will keep U.S. Cellular’s headquarters in Illinois. The package is part of the state’s Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Program (EDGE). The program provides tax credits to companies that promise to make capital investments within the state and create 25 [...]
A Novel Approach to Budget Planning
In the last few years, the federal government and many state governments have used a similar approach to dealing with the economic downturn: higher taxes and more government spending. Governor Quinn’s proposed tax hikes and his $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now capital spending program are a perfect example. Meanwhile, Chicago Park District Superintendent Tim Mitchell [...]
Strange Taxes
Earlier this month, CBS 2 Chicago with the help of the Illinois Policy Institute, ran a story about the various taxes you pay in the City of Chicago. While “What are you shelling out for taxes?” was a big hit in Chicago, the strange taxes topic has hit the national news. FoxNews.Com ran the story, [...]
Transparency could help Country Club Hills residents stay in their homes
Homeowners in the village of Country Club Hills are upset that their property taxes are increasing by a whopping 45 percent. The mayor says that new assessments from Cook County are to blame, but the county assessor says that his rates are flat. The back and forth aside, the mayor says that he needs the [...]
Tax Destruction
If Cook County wants to push its residents, businesses and revenue out of town, it’s doing a good job. Tomorrow, Cook County’s sales tax will increase yet again. Cook County already has the highest sales tax in the nation, and it will make its unfortunate ranking even more concrete with the tax increase on Tuesday. [...]