ILLINOIS JACKS TAXES TO 66%

(CBS File Photo)

CHAMBERS OF HAY HIKE HORROR:
Beware the sinister State Senate of ill Illinois!
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (CBS) – By a single vote, Illinois lawmakers approved a 66 percent increase to the personal income tax overnight.

Democratic state lawmakers have said the tax hike is necessary to get the state’s outstanding bills paid. Around 1 a.m. Wednesday, the Illinois Senate approved the tax hike by a vote of 30 to 29. The Illinois House approved the tax hike on Tuesday evening, by a vote of 60 to 57.

Gov. Pat Quinn still must sign the bill into law, but he has supported a tax hike all along, although this plan is double what he originally said he’d support. But Quinn agreed to the deal in closed-door meetings with top Democratic lawmakers this week and he was on the Senate floor when the vote was taken.

The hike increases the state’s personal income tax rate from 3 percent to 5 percent. In real numbers, if your gross income is $50,000 a year, your state income taxes will rise from $1,500 to $2,500 a year.

As CBS 2′s Susanna Song reports, the tax hike wasn’t sitting well with Chicago residents Wednesday morning. She spoke with dozens of commuters Wednesday and none of them supported the tax increase.

“I don’t like that. I’m already losing enough money,” one woman said.

“My taxes are high, so I just really … I’m really struggling as is,” another woman said.

FULL STORY
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Editor's Comment: And that ain't hay!
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First posted by CBS: 1/12/11
Original headline:
Illinois Lawmakers Approve 66% Tax Hike

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