How much will Pritzker’s ‘fair tax’ cost your family?

Gov. J.B. Pritzker claims his progressive income tax will only affect the rich. But the typical Illinois family would face $3,500 in tax hikes to pay for Pritzker's spending promises.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker is pushing to eliminate Illinois’ flat income tax protection in order to pass a progressive income tax hike, which Pritzker has dubbed a “fair tax.”

The governor claims his plan will raise $3.4 billion. But that’s not enough to cover the $14 billion to $19 billion in new spending Pritzker has promised. In order to pay for that, the typical family would see an income tax hike of up to $3,500.

To see how much your family would pay under Pritzker’s progressive tax plan, as well as what your family should be paying under Springfield’s last round of tax promises, use the tax hike calculator below.

The governor’s tax plan is ultimately a political promise. Pritzker promises a majority of Illinoisans would see a tax cut. But Illinois lawmakers made the same promise regarding the “temporary” income tax hike from 2011-2014. In 2017, Illinois lawmakers broke that promise – passing the largest permanent tax hike in state history, with the typical family seeing a tax hike of around $800.

Without any protections for middle-class families or reforms to the state’s largest spending drivers, there’s little reason to think Pritzker’s promises won’t be broken as well.