Repeal death, franchise taxes by ending cronyism

Illinois government does some strange things. A case in point is how the state treats people and businesses that create jobs. Illinoisans are subject to both a death tax and a franchise tax. The death tax is a special tax on wealthy people just for the privilege of dying in the state of Illinois. This...

Illinois government does some strange things. A case in point is how the state treats people and businesses that create jobs.

Illinoisans are subject to both a death tax and a franchise tax. The death tax is a special tax on wealthy people just for the privilege of dying in the state of Illinois. This effectively drives them to leave the state. Many of them are investors, business owners and farmers.

The franchise tax is a special tax on businesses for the privilege of existing and creating jobs in the state.

State government collected nearly $500 million from these two taxes in the 2014 fiscal year.

Then, Springfield turns around and gives the same amount of money to the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, or DCEO.

The DCEO uses this money to employ 380 people to hand out nearly $500 million in crony deals and tax credits to wealthy people and big businesses. The DCEO says it does this in order to keep wealthy people and big businesses in the state.

Instead of imposing harmful taxes that drive away jobs and businesses, then giving out the same amount of money in crony deals to keep jobs and businesses, the state should quit doing both.

This is the perfect opportunity for Springfield to kill two birds with one stone. Politicians should repeal the death and franchise taxes, and then end crony deals by defunding the DCEO.