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| Economy |
| WSJ - Illinois Drives People Away |
| 2017-12-13 |
| [WSJ] If Republicans succeed in limiting the state-and-local tax deduction, one hope is that this could finally inspire a come-to-Jesus moment in prodigal high-tax states. Democrats in Illinois ought to be especially chastened by new IRS data showing an acceleration of out-migration. The Prairie State lost a record $4.75 billion in adjusted gross income to other states in the 2015 tax year, according to recently IRS data released. That’s up from $3.4 billion in the prior year. Many of the migrants were retirees who often flock to balmier climes. But millennials accounted for more than a third of the net outflow in tax returns. While Florida with zero income tax was the top destination for Illinois expatriates, the Illinois Policy Institute notes that Illinois lost income and people on net to all of its neighbors‐Wisconsin (6,000 people based on claimed exemptions), Indiana (8,200), Iowa (1,900), Missouri (2,000) and Kentucky (1,100). What’s the matter with Illinois? Too much for us to distill in one editorial, but suffice to say that exorbitant property and business taxes have retarded economic growth. Illinois’s corporate tax rate is 9.5%, and pass-through business owners pay 6.45%. Though Illinois’s flat 4.95% income tax rate is relatively low compared to its neighbors, Democrats have found other ways to clobber their citizens. Property taxes in Cook County and Chicago’s "collar" counties are the highest in the country outside of California and the Northeast. The average homeowner who moves from Lake County, Illinois, across the border to Kenosha County, Wisconsin would receive an annual $3,200 annual property tax cut. Taxes may increase as Democrats scrounge for cash to pay for pensions. Fitch Ratings reported this week that Illinois’s unfunded pension liabilities equalled 22.8% of residents’ personal income last year, compared to a median of 3.1% across all states and 1% in Florida. This helps explain why Illinois’s economy has been stagnant, growing a meager 0.9% on an inflation-adjusted annual basis since 2012‐the slowest in the Great Lakes and half as fast as the U.S. overall. This year nearly 100,000 individuals have left the Illinois labor force. The University of Illinois Flash Economic Index, which measures corporate earnings and investment as well as personal income, hit a five-year low in October. (See nearby for the recent labor force trend in Illinois and Wisconsin.) Illinois taxpayers have seen the warnings on the wall, which became even more stark after the Democratic legislature this summer overrode GOP Gov. Bruce Rauner’s tax hike veto. Democrats in Springfield and Chicago think they can defeat Mr. Rauner next year and raise taxes again, but they may succeed mainly in driving more people out of state. |
| Posted by:Besoeker |
| #8 In the aforementioned county. We've seen crime añd gang activity going up for some time. A lot of the problems started when Little Richie was trying to clean up Chicago during their Olympic bid. This is also when things in Milwaukee really started to go south. On the plus side we are seeing businesses move north of the line. |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2017-12-13 20:08 |
| #7 I don't know where you are, Cheaderhead, but Madison has seen a crime spike. |
| Posted by: james 2017-12-13 16:44 |
| #6 When they move, either they need to leave their big-government politics behind, or expect to be treated as disease-carrying locusts who would carry the plague of progressivism and liberalism to a new home. Ask Colorado. |
| Posted by: Injun Bucket8891 2017-12-13 16:03 |
| #5 Unfortunately they bring their Flatlander ways with them. Loulsy drivers, rude, arrogant and on top of it they're Bears fans. If one looks at cost per sqft, land price, etc. For a comparable house they get more for their dollar. |
| Posted by: Cheaderhead 2017-12-13 11:08 |
| #4 >The average homeowner who moves from Lake County, Illinois, across the border to Kenosha County, Wisconsin would receive an annual $3,200 annual property tax cut. But this is represented in the relatively costs for purchasing a house in either area. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2017-12-13 07:26 |
| #3 Venezuela in slow motion |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2017-12-13 05:35 |
| #2 Heh - looks like Trump's not the only President who 'rewards our friends and punishes our enemies', is he? Now the shoe's on the other foot and will be jammed up their asses on or about April 15th, 2019. There is one drawback to this state emigration thing - Democrats will continue to vote like they did back in their original state. Look at how they ruined my home state of New Hampshire over thirty years. |
| Posted by: Raj 2017-12-13 02:55 |
| #1 Illinois taxpayers have seen the warnings on the wall Yes, same warning for about the last 50 years or so. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2017-12-13 02:12 |