Lake County Gazette

Republican state Senate candidate Chris Kasperski fumes the tax plan promoted by Gov. J.B. Pritzker as the fix Illinois so desperately needs is all about smoke and mirrors.

“When the governor labeled his tax hike amendment the fair tax he knew he had to make it sound good,” Kasperski told the Lake County Gazette. “Government should not arbitrarily punish some and reward others. This is about those in Springfield wanting more power, power that they definitely don’t deserve.”

Kasperski warns all of it figures to come at a steep price for already cash-strapped taxpayers. A new Illinois Policy Institute analysis projects that small businesses across the state soon could be forced to pay as much as a 50.3% marginal income tax rate should the tax appearing on the Nov. 3 ballot in the form of a referendum question garner the support it needs for passage. Ignoring growing warnings from many that the tax stands to handcuff small business owners even more, the governor continues to push his signature proposal as one that will only mean higher tax rates for the state’s most affluent residents.

At around 60% of net job creation, small business owners currently rank as the state’s biggest job creators. But those numbers could soon be on the decline, with researchers finding an increase in the top marginal tax rate could mean a slide in the hiring practices of entrepreneurs and slumping earnings for workers.

Running against longtime state Sen. Melinda Bush (D-Grayslake) in the 31st District, Kasperski has long blasted the tax as just the latest money grab coming from Springfield.

“The power to tax is the power to destroy,” Kasperski added. “The flat tax is the only protection that we have against such arbitrary abuses of the government's power to destroy.”

Kasperski recently took great exception with Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton warning voters if the governor’s signature proposal fails to get the support it needs for passage on Nov. 3, they could soon be facing a 20% percent tax hike to make up for their difference. More recently, Pritzker has essentially co-signed on the threat, further cautioning it’s either his progressive tax system or up to a 15% cut in government services.

“It is this style of governance that has gotten Illinois into the mess that we are in,” he said. “I had hoped that Gov. Pritzker's evasiveness on paying his own taxes would have better informed him of how his income tax scheme will not work. There's nothing appealing about adding more taxes onto an already crushing burden.”