Health & Fitness
On Tax Day, Fair Tax Supporters Use Calculator To Show Their Neighbors What They Would Save
Yesterday, supporters of a Fair Tax gathered in cities around Illinois to show their neighbors they could’ve paid far less on filing day if the state enacted Fair Tax legislation. Using the Fair Tax Calculator at post offices in Chicago, Decatur, the Quad Cities, Joliet and Bellville, taxpayers were able to see just how much they could’ve saved if Illinois passed a Fair Tax.
Outside a post office in the Chicago loop, Bob Gallie told Progress Illinois:
“This flat tax that people in this state are burdened with right now is totally unfair and makes the poor and middle class pay more in taxes than people who can really afford it.”
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Presently, the Fair Tax – with lower rates for lower incomes and higher rates for higher incomes – is legally barred by an antiquated provision of the Illinois Constitution from 1970. The Fair Tax – implemented with a rate structure proposed by the Fair Tax Act’s chief sponsor, Sen. Don Harmon – would cut taxes for 94% of Illinois residents, including everyone making up to $205,000.
Robert Wright, a blue collar worker in Rock Island, told Augustana Public Radio a Fair Tax would stimulate the local economy, saying he “would like to see more of the money I make come back to me.” “I'd rather see it come back to my communities, turn around and spend it in my communities,” he added.
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In addition to spurring local economic growth and giving 94% of Illinoisans a tax cut, a Fair Tax would help shore up some of the budget woes the state faces. Connie Tyler-Miller, a volunteer at the post office on Clinton Street in Joliet, told the Herald-News that mothers and children relying on state-funded programs would be negatively impacted by budget cuts. “There’s a lot of reasons why we need this,” Tyler-Miller said.
Back in Chicago, outside the Dirksen Federal Building, Kevin Robinson said he was “totally in favor of a Fair Tax in Illinois” after seeing he would get a $277 tax cut. “Our taxation system in this state is bananas,” added Robinson.
