HR0095 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0095 LRB104 11919 LAW 22011 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Illinois state lawmakers' spending plans came in at $53.1 billion last year; as a result, taxpayers will be forced to pay $1.1 billion more so that the State can spend record amounts in fiscal year (FY) 2025; and

WHEREAS, Among these tax increases, the extension of Illinois' cap on net operating losses, which will hike corporate income taxes for companies recently losing money, could be $526 million in FY2025; and

WHEREAS, Because Illinois operates on a fiscal year that runs from July through June, and Illinois corporate taxes are paid quarterly, this tax hike could double in FY2026, resulting in a tax hike of more than $1 billion; and

WHEREAS, The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability (COGFA) has estimated that the budget shortfall for FY2026 will be approximately $3.1 billion, leading to General Assembly members needing to make tough decisions; and

WHEREAS, Illinois' gasoline taxes were bumped to the rate of 47 cents per gallon, making Illinois' gas taxes the second highest in the nation, meaning that Illinois motorists can expect to pay approximately $328 a year in state gas taxes alone; and

WHEREAS, In 2023, the Commercial Club of Chicago, an organization representing senior leaders of the State's business, education, cultural, and philanthropic sectors, suggested either increasing the State's personal and corporate income taxes for 10 years or implementing a retirement tax to help pay for the State's worst-in-the-nation pension debt; and

WHEREAS, There are serious problems with that plan, as the revenue estimates are likely too high due to ignoring the negative effects of tax hikes on the economy; also, higher revenues do not guarantee a fix for the State's pension problem, as it would take imposing both the retirement tax and higher state income taxes to generate what the State needs to stop adding to its pension debt, generating even greater risks and damages; and

WHEREAS, Overspending is a rampant problem in Illinois, resulting in disastrous repercussions and corrections that inevitably fail and fall back onto the people of Illinois, and it is for their sake that we must curb the costly expenses that the residents of this State will incur if faced with more tax increases; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we commit to not vote for a tax increase to balance the budgets of the 104th General Assembly.