House Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst (R-Kankakee)
House Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst (R-Kankakee)
House Rep. Lindsay Parkhurst (R-Kankakee) said Illinois needs reform, not a new tax system.
"We need to spend less than we take in as a state," Parkhurst said during Monday's session in Springfield. "If we’d done that we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in now."
Parkhurst said the flat tax provides important protections for taxpayers that will disappear under the new system proposed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
"A graduated income tax would allow [lawmakers] to manipulate taxes and tax whoever they want," she said.
Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 1 passed the House on Monday with 73 Yes votes and 44 No votes. It will now be on the November 2020 ballot for Illinois voters to decide.
Every single Republican voted no on the bill and many businesses and individuals have spoken out against a graduated income tax structure. Critics like Parkhurst suggest that because rates are not nailed down in the amendment, the tax will eventually become a burden carried by the middle class.
Pritzker has been adamant about his preference for a "fair tax" since running for governor last year.
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