Madigan’s ‘millionaire tax’ fails in House

The House speaker’s proposal to hike taxes on small businesses failed to garner the 71 necessary “yes” votes needed to pass out of the House on April 20.

Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan failed in his attempt to punish small businesses under a “millionaire tax” in 2015. He failed again in 2016.

The proposal was called for a vote April 20 in the House of Representatives and failed to pass, with 68 representatives voting “yes,” 47 voting “no” and three representatives absent. Madigan fell three votes short of the 71 votes needed for passage.

The entire Republican caucus held together on the “no” vote, joined by Democratic Reps. Jack Franks, D-Woodstock, and Scott Drury, D-Highwood.

One-quarter of the revenue from Madigan’s proposed tax hike would have come straight from Illinois small businesses through a 3 percent tax on income over $1 million per year. That money would then have gone to schools based on how many students they have.

For the millionaire tax to take effect, Madigan would’ve had to convince his fellow lawmakers to amend the Illinois Constitution to establish this new, progressive rate. Any constitutional amendment requires a supermajority of votes in both the House and Senate before being put on the ballot for approval.

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