Millionaire Tax Backed by Illinois Voters in Threat to Chicago
(Bloomberg) -- Illinois voters approved a nonbinding proposal to add an extra 3% levy on annual incomes of more than $1 million, which could fuel a new effort to raise taxes on the state’s highest earners.
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The ballot measure – which was an advisory question – won 60% of support, according to the Associated Press. About 90% of the votes have been counted.
“The vote is a gigantic step in the right direction,” said former Governor Pat Quinn, a supporter of the measure.
While the proposal has no legal effect, the vote opens the door to a new debate over ramping up taxes on the rich even as Illinois and Chicago, its biggest city, contend with population declines and a string of departures by major companies and wealthy residents. In 2020, voters rejected a separate measure backed by Governor JB Pritzker to replace the state’s flat tax on incomes with a graduated system that would raise rates on higher-earners.
The Pritzker plan drew staunch opposition from billionaire financier Ken Griffin, who donated about $50 million to help torpedo the initiative. Griffin then left Chicago for Miami in 2022, moving the headquarters of his Citadel empire there as well. Companies from Caterpillar Inc. to Boeing Co. have also departed amid rising concerns over public safety, regulation and taxes.
This year’s referendum asked voters if the Illinois Constitution should be amended to create the additional tax on income over $1 million. It called for using the proceeds to ease the state’s notoriously high property levies.
--With assistance from Miranda Davis.
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