Prairie State Wire

Illinois business owner Gary Rabine is speaking out against Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s proposed progressive income tax, which is expected to be on the November ballot. He made his case in a 3 1/2-minute video on the Illinois Opportunity website.

“Like most small businesses, we pay income taxes and the highest individual rates," Rabine said. "I’ve been a leader in many organizations that promote job creation. Up to 2007 I saw no interest in small business leaders wanting to take their jobs and their businesses outside Illinois. Unfortunately, in 2020, many of those businesses have moved from Illinois, are planning to make their exit, or are waiting for the last straw which will be Pritzker’s progressive income tax.” 

He predicts the tax revenue the state will lose if businesses moved will be more than the $3.5 billion Pritzker expects to raise with this progressive tax. Rabine owns the Rabine Group of companies, which provide a variety of services, including pavement work, snow removal, pipeline inspections and roofing work.

“Illinois has surpassed all states with the highest cumulative tax state in the country – this makes creating jobs and operating businesses already the riskiest in America," he said. "More jobs and people per capita have left Illinois than any other state. At Rabine Companies we have 350 team members. I worry about how we’ll be able to pay them and compete with out national competition in states with low or no state income taxes. 

"I joined the Illinois business alliance in asking for the tax to be removed from the ballot. Instead, politicians in Springfield doubled down. They released ballot language that attempts to spin this into a good thing. These are people who have broken every tax hike promise they’ve ever made.  What you’re being asked to do this November is monumental. It’s not about one tax change. It’s about changing the state constitution. Going from a flat tax to a progressive tax will allow lawmakers to change tax bracket anytime they want. It’ll be like handing them a blank check.”

In 2019 Pritzker announced his intention to put a measure on the November 2020 ballot that would change the Illinois constitution. The constitution says the state has a flat tax rate to allow for a progressive income tax that would be focused on the state’s top earners – those making more than $250,000 a year. He called this “the Fair Tax.”

But the public reaction to this proposal hasn’t always been as positive as the governor would have hoped.  Organizations such as the Illinois Business Alliance and Illinois Policy Institute have spoken out against it, as have individual business owners like Rabine.

“One-hundred thousand small businesses will have a tough time staying open after the COVID-19 challenge," he said. "If this passes, their odds of survival get even more bleak. With the highest cumulative tax in America, Illinois is making it tough for business owners to experience the American Dream like I have.”     

To view Rabine’s video for yourself, visit www.illinoisopportunity.org/notaxhike/