Going to State Finance Committee on Monday... Let your state legislators know what you think!
By Alejandra Cancino Tribune reporter 6:33 p.m. CST, November 25, 2011
Illinois House lawmakers on Friday inched closer to a plan that would keep
Sears Holding Corp. and CME Group Inc. in Illinois, while delivering a number of other business-friendly changes to the tax code, a source said.
The compromise legislation, struck between Rep. John
Bradley (D-Marion) and Rep. David Harris (R-Mt. Prospect), is expected to be heard in committee Monday, before the House and Senate convene Tuesday.
- To counter claims that legislative leaders are caving to wealthy and powerful corporations, the proposal also contains relief for low- and middle-income families. The change to the so-called earned income tax credit had been included at Gov. Pat Quinn's insistence.
The proposal, which has a hefty price tag of $250 million a year, would be funded through the expiration of the federal bonus depreciation tax credit, which allows businesses to depreciate the cost of equipment.
CME Group, parent of the Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange, has threatened to leave the state in protest of a temporary increase to the state's corporate income tax rate. The proposal would tax income from just 27.54 percent of electronic transactions on local exchanges, costing the state an estimated $100 million a year.
Sears, for its part, would see a renewal of a special taxing district in Hoffman Estates. This would allow Sears to continue to get a break on local property taxes, although at a lower level. Under the deal, the retailer also would also receive a state incentive package to retain jobs here. That would to include tax credits worth $15 million a year for 10 years, another $150 million in potential tax breaks.
The retailer would have the option to take its $150 million in potential credits against its corporate income tax liability, as has been typical of most incentive packages, or against employee income taxes due to the state.
Tribune reporter Kathy Bergen contributed to this report.
mcancino@tribune.com
The political hacks are at it again. The bankrupt state raises income taxes by 67% and continues to give corporate welfare to every company that threatens to move. Let them move. Sears is broke and could not afford the cost of the move.
ReplyDeleteI would hope Mulroe and McAullife would know not to vote for corporate tax cuts. They represent districts with taxpayers that are fed up with paying taxes and want to see corporations pay their fair share.
ReplyDeleteThere's a documentary running now on the RT cable channel called 'Dying Abundantly.' It explains how the Chicago Board of Trade, owned by CME, manipulates commoditie prices wordwide. Their manipulation plays a large role in mass starvation and farmer suicides in counties such as India. They make billions while causing misery worldwide, and now they want tax breaks?
ReplyDeleteVote no Senator Mulroe. Vote no Rep. McAullife. The CME is pure evil. Let them leave.
No more tax breaks, especially for CME who doesn't give a rats ass about people anywhere - let MF Global go bankrupt, told their wealthiest clients two weeks before filing bankrupcy and left the small guys accounts to be frozen and forced them to lose huge dollars from the inactivity. CME was responsible for MF Global oversight - they were negligent and now we are suppose to give them tax breaks for allowing people to be ripped off? And no arrests? 1.3 billion dollars missing and no one is responsible.
ReplyDeleteSAY NO to corporate tax breaks, enough is enough.
CME: "yeah we allowed your money to be stolen by Corzine at MF Global and now we want a tax break, you suckers, or we will move"
ReplyDeleteThe state has done enough for these corporations. It's time the legislators took care of the voters. The "earned income tax credit" might give the average family $50 to $100 bucks - big deal. We need the $100 million plus from the corporations - it's called "fair share".
ReplyDeleteSears is posturing - they can't afford to move and they can't afford to compete in Wal-Mart country either. They are full of hot air.
ReplyDeleteCME on the other hand - why does our state want them to stay? They aren't very good at what they do. They let MF global rip off their customer accounts and did nothing. I don't see the advantage to keeping CME around. They are criminals and have a criminal staff of about 250 people. Let another state deal with this criminal element.
The earned tax credit - I agree, it won't be much. My family has never qualified, and if we do in the future, we won't get much back - we never do. We pay and pay.
We are in the midst of a depression, just incurred a 67% state tax hike, multiple new fees, fines and hikes from the city and a looming property tax increase come due in a year or two to pay for city pensions. How much more do these corporations and legislators think we can handle?
ReplyDeleteSo the carrot is some obscure "earned income tax credit" for low and middle income families? Oh yeah right. The State is broke, can't pay for pensions and they are giving corporations tax breaks and us little carrots?
ReplyDeleteHey, carrots are good for you
ReplyDeleteIf it were Caterpillar or some other huge manufacturer, I could support a corporate tax cut, but CME produces nothing but trouble and nothing of substance.
ReplyDeletepoliticians think we are idiots, they tack on this stupid earned income tax credit because they know we will go nuts about corporate tax breaks. They figure, if we throw the suckers (taxpayers) this bitty tax credit they will think they are getting something too.
ReplyDeletewe are idiots for electing these politicians. Time for a change. Next time around vote for any kind of change
ReplyDeleteIs this why my income tax went up 67%-so the money could be given to Sears and the Merc? Why not just have a special line on state tax form-"Corporate Welfare Tax"?
ReplyDeleteRemind me again, why do we want CME to stay? Corporate criminals who stood by and did nothing when MF Global ripped off customer accounts.
ReplyDeleteGo to Open Secrets. org and check the trove of bribe money paid to Commercial Club of Chicago member Mayor Rahm by the Financial Services industry alone - over $200,000 since he first ran for Congress. Open Secrets also has a boatload of info on Rahm under 'insider trading.' The CME loves Rahm Emanual.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry, our guys Silverstein, Mulroe, D'Amico, and McAullife will vote against it knowing that they pushed everyone else to vote for it. That way they look like they are the ones looking out for us, but smiling at the card game that just occurred. Check the votes and see what I mean. It's sick.
ReplyDeleteJust let them move...real smart. They can join the 26% of manufacturing jobs lost in Cook County in the last decade. The politicians made the mistake when they voted to raise the corporate tax and (worse) the income tax by a whopping 67%. Illinois used to be a pro business state and now it is just another whacked out state run by a bunch of (many with good intentions) liberal idiots. The road to hell is paved by good intentions. Let your mis-placed anger rule the day and let them all go. Brilliant.
ReplyDeleteThat's right 8:38, out the door with em and don't come back. Your sequencing is a little out of whack; The 26% who left Cook County in the last ten years was somehow caused by a tax hike passed last year? Huh? You must be a right wing idiot, with bad intentions.
ReplyDeleteThe overwhelming majority of factory closings here and all across our once great nation are the result of the North American Free Trade Agreement. NAFTA is the creation of the right -wing free traders who deserve a blindfold and a cigerette for their treason against our nation. Screw the Merc.
To...8:38
ReplyDeleteWe will not concede to terrorist demands. The scandels keep mounting. We no longer tolerate corruption under the disguise of public interest. America
Bill Clinton passed NAFTA. Biil Daley pushed it through Congress for him. 10:48 A.M and 11:17 A.M. you don't work do you? If you do, why are you on this blog at that time? Just wondering.
ReplyDeleteTo 11:20: Do I work? No. I did for 36 years. During those years I entered hundreds of abandonded Chicago factories. Abandonded because of NAFTA, of course.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct about Clinton and Daleys'role in NAFTA, of course.
Rahms' role? This from 'The Felsenthal Files', October 2010: "How Will Rahms' Role in NAFTA play in Mayors' Race?..."Billy and I shared an office...NAFTA went from being on respirator to a success." Rahm went on to say he was ..."paricularly fond of a photo he took with Clinton after passage."
Rahm and his allies were as wrong about NAFTA as the Bush team was wrong about weapons in Iraq. Yet, despite NAFTAs' catastrophic failure, Rahm's political career took off. Rahm proceeded to be wrong on single-payer health care for all, the domestic auto industry loans, and now, charter schools. Todays' Sun-Times reports Rahms' handpicked school board president is the former chairman of AUSL, the Charter School that was handed control of 10 public schools. How cozy.