Illinois Workers, You Get a Raise Today!

Happy New year and welcome back to work today and oh, by the way, you get a 1.25% raise...Hey, it’s a start…

If you live and work in Illinois, as of January 1, 2015 the 5 percent temporary tax hike officially rolled back to 3.75 percent, which means Illinois workers will see a 1.25 percent increase in their paychecks. Good for you, but not so good for Illinois state’s books.

A report by the Illinois Department of Revenue says the average Illinois family will save $930 in the coming year, however, state revenues will decrease by roughly $2 billion in the final half of the current fiscal year, and an additional $4 billion in fiscal year 2016 which begins July 1

What does this mean? Enjoy the extra money now, because the extra dough won't last long.

Already, there are those in the Illinois legislature that want to keep the 5 percent income tax rate in place, including Rockford Republican State Senator Dave Syverson

The Taxpayers Union of America is reporting that Republican State Senator Dave Syverson, Rockford, IL, is calling for an extension of the state’s 67% “temporary” state income tax increase that was set to roll back to 3.75% on January 1, 2015. More Republicans may back such a measure now that the election is over.

For those who thought electing a Republican governor would solve our problems, there is St. Sen. Dave Syverson, who is possibly the first of many Republicans who think the only way out of an unbalanced budget is to raise taxes.

 

Mystateline.com reports that Syverson voted against the temporary tax increase in 2011, when it was passed into law by the General Assembly. However, with a new governor coming in and the tax set to automatically roll back to 3.75 %, the issue is once again being debated by the Illinois General Assembly.

Syverson told mystateline.com:

“If the tax comes off in January, in the next 6 months we are going to end up with a multi-million dollar [budget] hole,”

Illinois is in a financial mess. The "temporary" income tax increase was designed to help pay for underfunded pensions and outstanding state bills  when it was approved. Unfortunately, the state of Illinois spent the money on other expenses and still has a major budget shortfall.

The corporate tax also declined. It was at seven percent and now it's at 5.25 percent.

Now, incoming Governor Bruce Rauner will have to figure what steps he plans to take to balance the budget when he takes office later this month.

Enjoy your extra money while you can.