Republican state Rep. Tom Demmer is proposing a refundable tax credit of as much as $400 for Illinois families hard hit by the combination of high taxes and rising inflation.
“All across the state of Illinois today families are feeling an increased burden because of the rising cost due to inflation and due to the supply chain disruption and due to the high tax that Illinois families uniquely deal with even above and beyond what families across the United States are dealing with,” Demmer said at a Nov. 23 news conference on the issue. “As legislators, we have the obligation not just to look at the financial health of the state government budget, but also to think of the financial health of family budgets in the constituents that we serve, the financial challenges that they face, and do whatever we can to provide some kind of relief for them when unique and unexpected changes happen like this recent surge in inflation.”
Demmer doesn’t seem surprised by a recent Kiplinger report that concludes Illinois is the least tax-friendly state in the country for middle-class families. With the state’s flat income tax rate at 4.95%, Kiplinger notes Illinois’ property taxes are also the second-highest in the country on average, and the state’s sales taxes are also among the steepest, with the Tax Foundation placing the average combined rate at 8.83%.
“Our proposal mirrors some of the financial aid that was given by the federal government in the last couple of years in that our proposal would call for single filers up to 75,000 in income to receive $200, joint filers up to $150,000 to receive $400 and head of household filers up to $112,000 to receive $200,” Demmer added. “We expect the overall cost of this proposal to be about $1.4 billion.”
Demmer argues the plan could be paid for by state lawmakers agreeing to spend the federal COVID-19 relief dollars the state received to foot the bill.
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