On April 2nd, the day after the Federal Excise Tax on cigarettes went up 156% per pack (Obama broken promise), the Illinois Senate passed Senate Bill 44.  SB 44, if signed into law would hike the state tax on cigarettes $1.00 over the next 2 years (50 cents a year for the next two years).  Rationale: Put it to the taxpayer a little at a time hoping they don’t recognize it (they are hoping the taxpayer is like the frog in the water that doesn’t recognize that it is heating up until it is too late and the water is boiling).   Click here to read ATR’s letter to the IL House regarding SB 44.

This isn’t the first tax increase, Blagojevich’s replacement, Governor Quinn, has been pushing for since taking over the reigns in Illinois.  He has introduced a proposal to hike the income tax and business tax by 50%, taking them from 3 to 4.5 percent and 4.8 to 7.2 percent respectively.  This is a recipe for burning out the taxpayers of the state.  For any state this is unwise, but for a state that has ranked 45 out of 50 the last 6 years, one has to wonder who eventually will be left to fund the state government.  For more information regarding Governor Quinn’s 50% hike in the income tax rate, click here. 

Overspending problems (to the tune of $11.6 billion in IL) are not solved by increasing taxes, rather the states in general and Illinois need to look to lift the burden of government off of the people by eliminating wasteful spending, identifying efficiencies, and streamling government.