Chesney: Democrats’ greedy ‘Millionaire Tax’ goes down in flames

The good people of Illinois just caught a rare breath of fresh air. The so-called “Millionaire Tax,” that shiny new 3% surcharge on income over a million bucks, died a quiet, whimpering death in the General Assembly after it missed the May 3 constitutional deadline. No fanfare, no victory laps from the usual suspects, just the sweet sound of another Democratic money grab hitting the pavement.

This is just another desperate attempt by Democrats to hammer successful people and job creators with higher taxes. They tried selling this lemon as laser-focused on a tiny group, but Illinois families have seen this rerun before. Remember, the 2020 progressive income tax referendum? Voters crushed it. Yet here came the same crowd, Pritzker and his band of Taxaholics Anonymous rejects, pushing a sequel nobody asked for.

Why the sudden stall? Maybe, just maybe, enough Democrats realized attaching another flaming tax failure to JB Pritzker’s resumé wasn’t the smartest move for a guy with presidential stars in his eyes. Nothing says “national leader” like getting slapped down twice in your own backyard. They finally figured out that Illinoisans aren’t buying the “only millionaires will pay” con anymore.

Our state is already taxed to the breaking point. Sky-high property taxes, punishing sales taxes, rising grocery bills, soaring energy costs and fees on nearly everything. Families are drowning in taxes. The solution sure isn’t another massive tax increase.

And let’s talk about who really gets hammered. Small businesses, the economic backbone of this state, file as pass-through entities. That “millionaire tax” would have jacked their top marginal rate from 4.95% to 7.95%, a brutal 61% hike. We’re talking about over 22,000 local shops, family farms, contractors, restaurants and manufacturers. These aren’t Wall Street titans with private jets; they’re the folks signing paychecks in Freeport, Machesney Park, Rockton, Galena and throughout northwest Illinois.

Businesses don’t eat tax increases. They pass them on to you: higher prices at the register, frozen wages, fewer hires, canceled expansions. Economists have beaten this drum for decades. Soak the job creators and watch hiring and paychecks shrink. Illinois already has some of the worst unemployment and anemic wage growth in America. Why make those problems worse?

Then there’s the Democrats’ favorite Trojan horse: bracket creep. They start with “just the millionaires,” but give Springfield a new higher bracket and watch how fast the goalposts move. Today it’s a million. Tomorrow? Half a million. Then your neighborhood dentist or successful farmer. History shows these “temporary” progressive schemes expand until the middle class foots the bill.

Look around the country. The outmigration of blue states is real. Places like California, New York – blue states that went full “eat the rich” – have watched businesses flee, investment dry up, and residents leave for Florida, Texas, and Tennessee. Illinois is already bleeding people and employers. Instead of fixing the mess of bloated spending, pension disasters, and corrupt patronage, the Pritzker Posse keeps rolling out the same tired menu: more taxes, more government, more excuses.

Illinois doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending addiction problem. The people knew it in 2020 when they rejected the last tax increase. They know it now. That’s why this latest grift collapsed before it ever reached a ballot.

Working families, small business owners and everyday Illinoisans don’t need more lectures from out-of-touch leftist legislators about “fairness.” They need relief. They need leaders who understand that you don’t grow an economy by punishing success and chasing away the productive.

The “Millionaire Tax” is dead, for now. But don’t kid yourself. These folks never quit. They’ll be back with new slogans and the same old appetite for your wallet.

Illinois dodged one this time. Next time, we need to make sure the Democrat Taxaholics don’t get another shot.