Lake County Gazette

Dan Yost fears what Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s fair tax could truly mean for Illinois.

“I think the 'progressive income tax' will be devastating for Illinois families and employers and will just accelerate our state’s decline,” Yost (R-Antioch), who is running against incumbent state Rep. Joyce Mason (D-Gurnee) in the 61st District, told the Lake County Gazette. “If the politicians intended to limit tax increases to the 'rich' they wouldn’t have written such an open-ended bill that allows them to raise taxes on anyone at any time.”

Since his days of promoting the bill on the campaign trail, the governor has insisted the measure will only mean higher taxes for the state’s most affluent.

Yost said to know the truth, all you need to do is read between the lines.

“We have to remember the people down in Springfield speak a different language than the rest of us - they speak politician,” he said. “Promising to only raise taxes on the rich means this time; they aren’t promising to not use their newly granted power next year, or the year after that.”

Yost points to a new Illinois Policy Institute analysis that concludes the bill’s enactment would cost the state the equivalent of all the 45,000 jobs it gained in 2019 as an example of the trickle-down impact it could have. In all, IPI forecasts that some 56,399 jobs would be lost.

“The progressive income tax hike will unquestionably hurt the economy,” he said. “They aren’t solving the root cause of the problem. They will still be spending more money than we have, the pension problem will continue to grow exponentially, and more families and employers will leave, shrinking the tax base even more. That’s the recipe for economic disaster.”

Voters will finally have their say in November when they go to the polls to vote on the question of if the state Constitution should be amended to allow lawmakers the power to enact a progressive tax system.

“In the insurance industry, when the premiums increase so much that too many people drop and there isn’t enough money coming in to support the claims of those who remain, you enter a death spiral,” Yost said. “Increasing the premium will only drive more people out. I’m concerned that’s where we are headed as a state. I will bring this common sense, long-term, problem-solving perspective to Springfield. We need to change our strategy before it’s too late and Illinois enters a death spiral.”