Illinois House Democrats Propose Wealth Tax and New Levies
Illinois House Democrats have introduced a $1.5 billion transit funding plan, featuring a first-in-the-world wealth tax on billionaires and new taxes on streaming services like Netflix and Spotify.
The plan also includes steep surcharges on concerts and ticketed events. However, critics argue that billionaires can easily leave the state, resulting in lost income, property, and sales tax dollars.
What starts with billionaires opens the door to taxing others next.
This could lead to a shrinking tax base, forcing the state to make up for the lost revenue by taxing less wealthy Illinoisans. Governor Pritzker has stated that he does not support the proposal.
A potential concern is that there is no stopping lawmakers from lowering the threshold for the wealth tax in the future, which could impact others beyond just billionaires.
Author's summary: Illinois Democrats propose a wealth tax.