Illinois Senate passes Privilege Tax on investors

[DegenerateDish]

Lessons learned from aftermath of 1/11/11 in Illinois...none.

Putting a band aid on a massive gun shot wound today does nothing to fix the real financial problems in Illinois. We'll be back in this same position sooner rather than later.

[Tugg Speedman]

Lessons learned from aftermath of 1/11/11 in Illinois...none.

Putting a band aid on a massive gun shot wound today does nothing to fix the real financial problems in Illinois. We'll be back in this same position sooner rather than later.

This budget deal hikes state individual income taxes without addressing the more serious issues. There is no plan to deal with the nearly $15 billion in unpaid bills. This is also likely to exacerbate the population decline over the long run (Illinois already lays claim to the largest population decline of any state in the country and Chicago lays claim to the largest population decline of any city in the country). Perhaps most importantly, this bill does not deal with the huge and growing pension problem.

Given this, is anyone surprised that Moodys still put the state on credit watch and Aetna is threatening to leave despite the likelihood of this budget passing?

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Moody’s Investor’s Service has thrown a bit of a curveball into efforts to pass the first state budget in three years, suggesting that Illinois still might hit junk level despite an income tax hike that’s part of the deal. 
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20170705/BLOGS02/170709975/moodys-throws-curveball-into-state-budget-debate#utm_medium=email&utm_source=ccb-breakingnews&utm_campaign=ccb-breakingnews-20170705

Aetna Better Health, which the state of Illinois owes at least $698 million, has had enough.

The subsidiary of the national insurance giant has given the state notice that it plans to terminate its Medicaid contracts, Aetna spokesman T.J. Crawford wrote today in an email.

Aetna Better Health, which the state of Illinois owes at least $698 million, has had enough. The subsidiary of the national insurance giant has given the state notice that it plans to terminate its Medicaid contracts, Aetna spokesman T.J. Crawford wrote today in an email.  ... For Illinois Medicaid, the loss of a big insurer would mean a major shift. The roughly 235,000 low-income and disabled recipients Aetna covers would have to be moved to another health plan that might not have the same network of doctors and hospitals.
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20170706/NEWS03/170709961/aetna-threatens-to-exit-illinois-medicaid-over-budget-crisis#utm_medium=email&utm_source=ccb-breakingnews&utm_campaign=ccb-breakingnews-20170706

[Tugg Speedman]

Congratulations to all involved.  This took hard work and dedication to achieve this great victory.

ILLINOIS HAS HIGHEST OVERALL TAX BURDEN IN THE NATION
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-has-highest-overall-tax-burden-in-the-nation/

So bad is Illinois that it ranks 51st among all states!

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-to-be-a-taxpayer/2416/

If you ...
* Annual income of $54,286 (mean third quintile U.S. income);
* Own a home valued at $178,600 (median U.S. home value);
* Own a car valued at $23,070 (the highest-selling car of 2016);
* Spends annually an amount equal to the spending of a household earning the median U.S. income.

You pay $8,100 dollars/year more in all taxes in Illinois than to live in Tennessee (Nashville).

I guess the privilege of living in Illinois makes it worth it.

Thank you, sir, may I have another?

[Pakuni]

Congratulations to all involved.  This took hard work and dedication to achieve this great victory.

ILLINOIS HAS HIGHEST OVERALL TAX BURDEN IN THE NATION
https://www.illinoispolicy.org/illinois-has-highest-overall-tax-burden-in-the-nation/

So bad is Illinois that it ranks 51st among all states!

https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-states-to-be-a-taxpayer/2416/

If you ...
* Annual income of $54,286 (mean third quintile U.S. income);
* Own a home valued at $178,600 (median U.S. home value);
* Own a car valued at $23,070 (the highest-selling car of 2016);
* Spends annually an amount equal to the spending of a household earning the median U.S. income.

You pay $8,100 dollars/year more in all taxes in Illinois than to live in Tennessee (Nashville).

I guess the privilege of living in Illinois makes it worth it.

Thank you, sir, may I have another?

I do believe you're reading some of these numbers incorrectly.
According to your source here, the annual state and local taxes on a median state household in Illinois is $8,162. In Tennessee, it's $3,566.
So where are you getting the "$8,100 more" in Illinois than Tennessee? My math tells me it's closer to $4,600. But maybe you're adding in factors I'm not aware of?
Also, fwiw, the median household income in the Chicago area is $51,046, compared to $44,223 in Nashville. So, while you're paying more in taxes, you're also in an environment in which you're apt to earn more.

[warriorchick]

I do believe you're reading some of these numbers incorrectly.
According to your source here, the annual state and local taxes on a median state household in Illinois is $8,162. In Tennessee, it's $3,566.
So where are you getting the "$8,100 more" in Illinois than Tennessee? My math tells me it's closer to $4,600. But maybe you're adding in factors I'm not aware of?
Also, fwiw, the median household income in the Chicago area is $51,046, compared to $44,223 in Nashville. So, while you're paying more in taxes, you're also in an environment in which you're apt to earn more.

As my math teachers in Tennessee used to say, "Please show your work".


And your comparison of median incomes, even with your "corrected" math, would mean that the incremental tax rate would be 67% in order to be apples to apples.  Seems fair.

[Pakuni]

As my math teachers in Tennessee used to say, "Please show your work". 

Well, I'm relying accuracy of Heisy's sources here (risky, I know).
But, according to his sources the annual state and local taxes on a median state household in Illinois is $8,162. In Tennessee, it's $3,566.
My work:
  8,162
- 3,566
4,596 (not 8,100)

And your comparison of median incomes, even with your "corrected" math, would mean that the incremental tax rate would be 67% in order to be apples to apples.  Seems fair.

Um, show your work?

[muwarrior69]

According to this article New Jersey, my home state, is in worse shape than Illinois, go figure.

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/articles/2017-07-11/new-jersey-least-fiscally-sound-state-in-us