Last Friday, we were surprised to learn that those little anti-tax scamps over at Americans for Tax Reform have a sense of humor when they sarcastically gave the Illinois legislature credit for keeping the state’s proposed income tax increase below 80%.
Well, with today’s report that the IL pols have reconsidered their stance on that proposal, Grover Norquist and Co. are probably tickled pink:
The Illinois legislature moved a step closer Tuesday to passing its first tax-rate increase in nearly two decades to dig the state out of a $13 billion budget hole despite steep opposition from Republicans.
Tuesday afternoon, the House Revenue and Finance committee passed a scaled back version of a tax-increase proposal that was struck last week by leaders of the Democratically controlled legislature and Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, also a Democrat.
Under the current version of the bill, the individual income-tax rate would jump to 5%, from the current 3%, a 67% increase. That is more conservative than last week’s proposed 5.25% rate, a 75% increase.
No reaction from ATR yet but we’re hoping for more GOP comedy relief.
As we’ve mentioned, the scourge of tax policy pragmatism,