Chicago Politics - Provide Backdoor Deals

[GHook93]

I first heard about this from a Republican State legislator, and S-Corp Stakeholder/Owner, on the radio. What he said is Democrats raised the corporate tax and personal income tax on all the small and med business in IL and actually LOWERED the large business. He talked specifically about Motorola. Motorola was one of the HEADLINE companies saying they were planning on leaving if the tax was raised. So what did Quinn do, gave them a backdoor deal worth $100 mil (basically gave them a State Corp tax cut to 0%). Same thing happen with Caterpillar. When Caterpillar announce it was leaving Illinois, Quinn personally made a call to keep them. He did the same thing, basically cut their corporate tax rate to 0%). The funny thing is these companies aren't hiring and still shipping many jobs overseas.

Which companies aren't get these back door deals? The S-Corps, LLC, LP (all which are hit with the personal income tax) and the small C-Corps. These are the companies that are hiring. These are the companies that will bring jobs to IL. Yet Quinn doesn't care about them, even though the Democrats supposedly work for the little man!

Why doesn't he care about them:
(1) When companies the size Caterpillar even threatens to leave, they make the head of the wall street journal, but when a company with 100-200 employees actually does leave, it doesn't even make the local papers.

(2) Relocation costs deter small businesses more than large ones. Large ones can write it off against profits for lower Federal taxes and break even. Smaller Corps usually don't have profits high enough, so they end up in the red.

(3) Small corps don't have lobbist. Larges corps do.

(4) Large Corps make huge campaign contributions, small corps make small ones!


The sheep that Democrats fool, think they are sticking it to the large corps. That Quinn and the Democrats are making them pay their fair share. When in fact they lower the taxes on the headline making corps and raise it on everyone else!

The wrong way to support Illinois businesses - Chicago Tribune
Recently, Gov. Pat Quinn has been offering some of Illinois' largest corporations incentive packages to keep them from relocating. Motorola was given $100 million in tax breaks; Navistar pocketed $65 million; Chrysler received a $62 million investment package; all in all nearly $500 million in incentives have been given to at least 80 large private corporations in the last two years.

Even The Wall Street Journal recently editorialized on Illinois' high corporate tax rates and special tax breaks that Quinn has doled out with little transparency or accountability. The editorial reminded us that handing out favors one business at a time is "politically corrupting and an ineffective economic development strategy."

I hear local business owners complain about burdensome regulation, ever-increasing taxes and other issues like workers' compensation — but none of those businesses is getting taxpayer subsidies to lessen the blow of the tax hike. Some employ several hundred people, others just a few, but none receives the red carpet treatment these huge multinationals get from the governor's office.

Small and medium-size businesses are vital to Illinois' economic recovery and are the vehicles that support entrepreneurship and innovation. Why should a local business have to pay a tax that a massive corporation is essentially exempted from? I am not criticizing the corporations that call Illinois home, rather the fundamental unfairness of deeming our smaller firms unworthy of similar tax relief. Instead of rushing to provide special deals for our largest corporations, we need to focus on supporting all our struggling businesses by lessening the regulatory and tax burden across the board. The easiest way to attract business is to lower taxes.

The state owes millions of dollars to small businesses that have not received their tax refunds in the past few years. All the while, these companies must continue to pay taxes, even though they have not received what is owed them. We need to pass Senate Bill 1741 that would allow those businesses to write off money they are owed from their future tax liability.

 

[GHook93]

More on Chicago politics. See the Democrats low big business. They put small businesses are at a huge disadvantage against them. Yet they protray themselves as helping the little man!

Pat Quinn doles out over $230 million in tax breaks to big business, putting more burden on individual Illinois taxpayers - Your Doubting Thomas
Another Illinois company has threatened to leave to state because of Governor Quinn's tax increase. Over the last six months, our state's giant companies, including, Caterpillar, Sears Holdings, Motorola Mobility, and Navistar International, all threatened to leave the state because the corporate tax increase would cost the companies millions more to do business in Illinois.

This week sees the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade seeking to move their operations out of state to New Jersey, Indiana or another state in an effort to save an estimated $50 million in taxes a year.

Remember, in January, Illinois raised the corporate tax income from 4.8% to 7%. Illinois corporations also pay 2.5% in additional taxes in income called the personal property replacement tax. Taken together, the two rates are 9.5% which is the third highest rate on the United States.

As our state's big businesses threatened to leave, Governor Quinn talks big, but ultimately backs down. Thru May 2011, he has handed out an estimated $230 million in tax breaks, called "financial incentive packages" to these big businesses.

Yesterday, Governor Quinn again spoke big about the most recent threat to leave saying "the taxpayers of Illinois aren't going to subsidize private companies unless they give something back to the people of Illinois."

As today's Tribune editorial page points out our governor has forgotten: these large companies provide jobs. They already provide millions of dollars in tax revenue. What governor Quinn has forgotten is that companies--good companies--make smart business decisions. When it costs less to do business in Indiana, Wisconsin, or New Jersey, smart large companies will move across state lines. These large companies moving out of state--or getting the tax breaks that Quinn has doled out--puts more of the tax burden on Illinois individuals and small businesses, which during a time of continued economic downturn, could really use a break.

As seen by giving out roughly a quarter billion in financial aid to businesses, Governor Quinn gets the importance of keeping large Illinois companies in Illinois. But what about keeping small businesses in Illinois? What about the individual? We are all getting squeezed by this governor to pay more in taxes and we have not been provided "financial incentive packages." I know my family could certainly use one.



Read more: Pat Quinn doles out over $230 million in tax breaks to big business, putting more burden on individual Illinois taxpayers - Your Doubting Thomas

 

[GHook93]

The Newspaper HEADLINE companies that aren't getting backdoor deals by Don Quinn are in fact moving out of the state and quicker than expected!

NEWS/TALK 1010 WCSI Radio - WCSI Weather - Columbus Indiana
Indiana‘s efforts to steal away business from Illinois appear to be paying off. When Illinois enacted a cluster of tax hikes to rein in a ballooning deficit, Indiana Commerce Secretary Mitch Roob says he predicted a dozen Illinois businesses would migrate to Indiana by the end of the year. It took six months.

Roob is counting two companies which picked Indiana over Illinois without any extra incentives. Along with those, he says three companies have moved to Indiana, and seven more which had facilities in both states have consolidated operations in Indiana. Indiana tried a similar strategy in California without much luck so far.

Sames words different article!

http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/indiana-attracting-illinois-business/
In an ongoing effort to attract businesses to move from Illinois, state Commerce Secretary Mitch Roob says Indiana’s success has exceeded expectations.

In a presentation to the Indiana Economic Development Corporation board meeting Thursday, Roob announced 12 businesses had either relocated, consolidated or come to Indiana without the state having to use incentives in 2011.

The goal of the effort had originally been to win 12 businesses from Illinois in 12 months; Roob says that the state accomplishing it in only six months is an indication of how frustrated Illinois businesses are.

“The level of dissatisfaction,” he said, “is really significant in the business community there and people are…have had enough.”

Roob says Indiana must stay the course with its fiscal policy as it continues to try and poach Illinois businesses.

“We’ll do what the governor has done,” he said, “what the General Assembly has done and what local governments throughout our states have done which is live inside their means.”

Roob says Indiana hopes Illinois gets its house in order, but until it does, the state will continue to do its best to attract companies frustrated with Illinois’ business climate.

 

[GHook93]

How do you like the IL tax increase now?