Full Text of SJR0001 101st General Assembly
SJ0001 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The 101st General Assembly of the State of | 3 | | Illinois has submitted Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional | 4 | | Amendment 1, a proposition to amend the Illinois Constitution, | 5 | | to the voters of Illinois at the November 2020 general | 6 | | election; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Constitution Amendment Act requires | 8 | | the General Assembly to prepare a brief explanation of the | 9 | | proposed amendment, a brief argument in favor of the amendment, | 10 | | a brief argument against the amendment, and the form in which | 11 | | the amendment will appear on the ballot, and also requires the | 12 | | information to be published and distributed to the electorate; | 13 | | therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 15 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 16 | | CONCURRING HEREIN, that the proposed form of Section 3 of | 17 | | Article IX shall be published as follows: | 18 | | "ARTICLE IX | 19 | | REVENUE | 20 | | SECTION 3. LIMITATIONS ON INCOME TAXATION | 21 | | (a) The General Assembly shall provide by law for the rate |
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| 1 | | or rates of any tax on or measured by income imposed by the | 2 | | State. A tax on or measured by income shall be at a | 3 | | non-graduated rate. At
any one time there may be no more than | 4 | | one such tax imposed by the State
for State purposes on | 5 | | individuals and one such tax so imposed on
corporations. In any | 6 | | such tax imposed upon corporations the highest rate shall
not | 7 | | exceed the highest rate imposed on individuals by more than a | 8 | | ratio of 8 to
5.
| 9 | | (b) Laws imposing taxes on or measured by income may adopt | 10 | | by
reference provisions of the laws and regulations of the | 11 | | United States,
as they then exist or thereafter may be changed, | 12 | | for the purpose of
arriving at the amount of income upon which | 13 | | the tax is imposed."; and be it further
| 14 | | RESOLVED, That a brief explanation of the proposed | 15 | | amendment, a brief argument in favor of the amendment, a brief | 16 | | argument against the amendment, and the form in which the | 17 | | amendment will appear on the ballot shall be published and | 18 | | distributed as follows:
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| 1 | | PROPOSED AMENDMENT | 2 | | TO SECTION 3 OF ARTICLE IX | 3 | | OF THE ILLINOIS CONSTITUTION | 4 | | That will be submitted to the voters | 5 | | November 3, 2020 | 6 | | This pamphlet includes | 7 | | EXPLANATION OF THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT | 8 | | ARGUMENTS IN FAVOR OF THE AMENDMENT | 9 | | ARGUMENTS AGAINST THE AMENDMENT | 10 | | FORM OF BALLOT |
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| 1 | | To the Electors of the State of Illinois: | 2 | | The Illinois Constitution establishes a structure for | 3 | | government and laws. There are three
ways to initiate change to | 4 | | the Illinois Constitution: (1) a constitutional convention may | 5 | | propose
changes to any part; (2) the General Assembly may | 6 | | propose changes to any part; or (3)
a petition initiative may | 7 | | propose amendments limited to structural and procedural | 8 | | subjects
contained in the Legislative Article. The people of | 9 | | Illinois must approve any changes to the
Constitution before | 10 | | they become effective. The purpose of this document is to | 11 | | inform you
of proposed changes to the Illinois Constitution and | 12 | | provide you with a brief explanation
and a summary of the | 13 | | arguments in favor of and in opposition to the proposed | 14 | | amendment.
| 15 | | EXPLANATION
| 16 | | The proposed amendment grants the State authority to impose | 17 | | higher income tax rates on higher income levels, which is how | 18 | | the federal government and a majority of other states do it. | 19 | | The amendment would remove the portion of the Revenue Article | 20 | | of the Illinois Constitution that is sometimes referred to as | 21 | | the "flat tax," that requires all taxes on income to be at the | 22 | | same rate. The amendment does not itself change tax rates. It | 23 | | gives the State the ability to impose higher tax rates on those |
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| 1 | | with higher income levels and lower tax rates on those with | 2 | | middle or lower income levels. You are asked to decide whether | 3 | | the proposed amendment should become a part of the Illinois | 4 | | Constitution. | 5 | | Arguments in Favor of the Proposed Amendment | 6 | | Illinois' current tax system unfairly benefits | 7 | | millionaires and billionaires and this amendment will set | 8 | | things right for middle-class and working people. Currently, it | 9 | | is unfair that billionaires pay the same tax rate as regular | 10 | | people. | 11 | | Voting "yes" on the amendment means that the State will | 12 | | enact a new tax structure where only those making above | 13 | | $250,000 a year will see their taxes go up. | 14 | | This amendment is simply upgrading Illinois' old tax system | 15 | | to a graduated system which is how the federal government and | 16 | | the majority of other states do it. | 17 | | This Amendment Would Make Illinois' Tax System Fair | 18 | | Approval of this amendment would enact a fair system that | 19 | | allows the state to tax wealthy people at higher rates and | 20 | | lower income people at lower rates, replacing Illinois' current |
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| 1 | | unfair tax system, in which wealthy people pay the exact same | 2 | | tax rate as lower and middle income people. | 3 | | Illinois' current tax system unfairly benefits | 4 | | millionaires and billionaires, and approval of this amendment | 5 | | will set things right for the middle class and working people. | 6 | | This amendment will help small business owners by creating | 7 | | a stable economic environment for their businesses to thrive. | 8 | | While others try to mislead you, under the current tax | 9 | | system in Illinois, policymakers already have the authority to | 10 | | set any tax rate and to change tax rates at their will. The | 11 | | current system forces policymakers to charge the same tax rate | 12 | | to everyone, regardless of how much money they make. If this | 13 | | amendment passes, the State will have the ability to tax higher | 14 | | income earners at a different rate. In fact, upon passage of | 15 | | this Amendment, a new tax structure will go into effect where | 16 | | 97% of taxpayers will pay the same or less, while only those | 17 | | making more than $250,000 a year will see a tax increase. | 18 | | This amendment does not tax retirement income. | 19 | | The Federal Government and Most States Use the Graduated Tax | 20 | | System Proposed in this Amendment, Not the Unfair System | 21 | | Currently Used in Illinois |
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| 1 | | Illinois is among a minority of states that do not utilize | 2 | | graduated tax rates because the Illinois Constitution requires | 3 | | a "flat tax" that penalizes middle-class and working people and | 4 | | benefits higher income individuals. | 5 | | A majority of states and the federal government already use | 6 | | the kind of graduated income tax system proposed in this | 7 | | amendment to ensure that wealthy people pay their fair share of | 8 | | taxes. | 9 | | Nearby states including Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, | 10 | | and Wisconsin are among the majority of states that have | 11 | | graduated tax systems. | 12 | | Illinois' Current Income Tax System Relies on Taxes from Middle | 13 | | and Lower Income Earners, While a Graduated System Would Lower | 14 | | that Burden and Fund Critical Programs such as Education and | 15 | | Human Services | 16 | | While some states have fair tax rates in which the highest | 17 | | income earners pay the highest tax rate, Illinois' "flat tax" | 18 | | rate continues to rely unfairly on taxes from middle and lower | 19 | | income earners. | 20 | | Under Illinois' "flat tax" structure, a nurse making |
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| 1 | | $50,000 per year pays the same tax rate as an executive making | 2 | | $4 million per year. A graduated tax rate would have the | 3 | | executive pay more. | 4 | | Because of the way our current tax system is set up, the | 5 | | bottom fifth of Illinois taxpayers (those making below $21,800) | 6 | | contribute 14.4% of their income to state and local taxes, | 7 | | compared to 7.4% for the top 1 percent of Illinois taxpayers. | 8 | | If this Amendment passes, the State has already enacted a | 9 | | new graduated tax structure where 97% of taxpayers will pay the | 10 | | same or less. | 11 | |
Under the new tax structure, only the top 3% of Illinois | 12 | | income earners would pay more in income taxes. Everyone who | 13 | | makes $250,000 or less a year would pay the same or less. | 14 | |
Over 95% of small businesses earn $250,000 or less a year | 15 | | in profits, and their owners will not see a tax increase under | 16 | | the new tax structure. | 17 | |
This change will generate additional revenue each year | 18 | | that can help address Illinois' budget deficit and fund | 19 | | critical programs, including the State's education system, | 20 | | public safety, and social services like mental health and | 21 | | substance abuse treatment and domestic violence shelters. |
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| 1 | | After the COVID-19 Pandemic, We Need to Do All We Can to Help | 2 | | the Economy and Middle-Class and Working People | 3 | | Working people and essential workers like nurses, first | 4 | | responders, and grocery store clerks should not pay the same | 5 | | tax rate as the wealthy. Nurses making $50,000 a year should | 6 | | not pay the same tax rate as an executive making $4,000,000 a | 7 | | year. | 8 | | Having wealthy people pay more would reduce the burden on | 9 | | working families. This is money that middle and lower income | 10 | | people need for housing, groceries, medicine, and essentials. | 11 | | When the wealthiest people pay more, middle and lower | 12 | | income earners can pay less while the State funds critical | 13 | | services that our essential workers rely on. | 14 | | Arguments Against the Proposed Amendment
| 15 | | 1. The Amendment gives the Legislature power to increase | 16 | | taxes on any group of taxpayers with no limits and no | 17 | | accountability and without any requirement to use the | 18 | | additional revenue to fund essential needs such as healthcare, | 19 | | education, or public safety. |
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| 1 | | 2. Taxes and spending are out of control. The Legislature | 2 | | should not be allowed to keep raising taxes until they get | 3 | | their spending under control.
| 4 | | 3. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, now is the worst | 5 | | possible time for a massive tax increase.
| 6 | | The Amendment gives the Legislature power to increase taxes on | 7 | | any group of taxpayers with no limits and no accountability and | 8 | | without any requirement to use the additional revenue to fund | 9 | | essential needs such as healthcare, education, or public | 10 | | safety. | 11 | | The proposed amendment would give the Legislature | 12 | | unlimited new authority to increase income tax rates on any | 13 | | group of taxpayers at will, including low-income and | 14 | | middle-income families and small business owners. There would | 15 | | be no limit on the number of tax brackets that could be created | 16 | | and no limit on how high tax rates could be increased on | 17 | | individual taxpayers. In addition, this proposed change will | 18 | | pave the way for a tax on retirement income. | 19 | | Nothing in the amendment requires the Legislature to do | 20 | | anything to control spending. Nor does it require funds to be | 21 | | spent on essential needs such as healthcare, education, or | 22 | | public safety. It would simply give the Legislature a blank |
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| 1 | | check to spend billions of dollars however they want, with no | 2 | | accountability. | 3 | | Taxes and spending are out of control. The Legislature should | 4 | | not be allowed to keep raising taxes until they get their | 5 | | spending under control. | 6 | | Illinois already has some of the highest property taxes and | 7 | | sales taxes in the nation. And the Legislature has increased | 8 | | Illinois income tax rates twice in the past decade to try to | 9 | | deal with the out-of-control spending in Springfield. | 10 | | Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, our state had a huge and | 11 | | growing multi-billion-dollar budget deficit, and the unfunded | 12 | | pension liability skyrocketed to over $137 billion. That's | 13 | | because the Legislature has continued to increase state | 14 | | spending instead of eliminating government waste, corruption, | 15 | | and abuse. | 16 | | Because they refuse to control spending or pass major | 17 | | reforms, the Legislature will just continue to raise taxes on | 18 | | everyone in Illinois, and middle-class families will be their | 19 | | next target. | 20 | | In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, now is the worst possible | 21 | | time for a massive tax increase. |
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| 1 | | The COVID-19 pandemic caused layoffs, unemployment, | 2 | | bankruptcies, and closures. As small businesses and local | 3 | | employers struggle to rebuild, this is the worst possible time | 4 | | to impose huge new tax increases. Even before the COVID 19 | 5 | | crisis, many residents and businesses were leaving the state | 6 | | because of the high tax burden. If the Amendment passes, it | 7 | | would be the last straw for thousands of small businesses, | 8 | | causing more jobs to leave the state, and making Illinois lose | 9 | | out on investments to rebuild our economy. This would mean | 10 | | fewer jobs and less opportunity for Illinois families. | 11 | | FORM OF BALLOT | 12 | | Proposed Amendment to the 1970 Illinois Constitution
| 13 | | Explanation of Amendment
| 14 | | The proposed amendment grants the State authority to impose | 15 | | higher income tax rates on higher income levels, which is how | 16 | | the federal government and a majority of other states do it. | 17 | | The amendment would remove the portion of the Revenue Article | 18 | | of the Illinois Constitution that is sometimes referred to as | 19 | | the "flat tax," that requires all taxes on income to be at the | 20 | | same rate. The amendment does not itself change tax rates. It | 21 | | gives the State the ability to impose higher tax rates on those | 22 | | with higher income levels and lower income tax rates on those |
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| 1 | | with middle or lower income levels. You are asked to decide | 2 | | whether the proposed amendment should become a part of the | 3 | | Illinois Constitution. | 4 | | -------------------------------------------------------------
| 5 | | YES For the proposed amendment
- | 6 | | ---------- of Section 3 of Article IX
| 7 | | NO of the Illinois Constitution.
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