COMPLICATED PATH TO VICTORY LEAVES FATE OF GOV’S GRADUATED TAX AMENDMENT UNCLEAR
The fate of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s bid to amend the state constitution to allow for a graduated income tax remained uncertain Tuesday night, with state officials warning as many as 400,000 outstanding mail-in ballots have another two weeks to arrive.
Complicating matters in Illinois’ most hotly contested statewide campaign is that the amendment could pass in one of two ways.
The amendment could pass if a majority of all people voting in Tuesday’s election voted “yes.” But it could also pass if 60 percent of the people who specifically voted on the amendment voted “yes.” Meanwhile, mail-in ballots have until Nov. 17 to roll in.
Incomplete results Tuesday showed 53.2% of people voting against the amendment and 46.8% voting in favor with 61.4% of precincts reporting. Election officials cautioned in the days leading up to Election Day that outstanding mail-in ballots could affect early leads seen in numerous races across the state on Election Night.
Currently, the state constitution mandates all incomes be taxed at a flat rate. That changes if the amendment passes. Pritzker and other supporters of the amendment argue that would make Illinois’ tax system more fair. Opponents say Springfield can’t be trusted to not enact additional tax hikes later under the new framework.
The current income tax levied on all taxpayers is 4.95%. The flat tax rate, which has fluctuated over the years, has been part of the Illinois Constitution since 1970, a year after income tax was first enacted in Illinois.
Advocates for the change predict 97% of Illinoisans would see a tax cut with new marginal tax rates that would go into effect Jan. 1. For single or joint filers making $250,000 a year or less, lower tax rates would be applied to the first $100,000 of their income, with the current tax rate of 4.95% applied only to the dollars that followed after that.
For single filers, a higher 7.75% rate would apply to income between $250,001 and $350,000, followed by a rate of 7.85% from
$350,001 to $750,000. For joint filers, the 7.75% rate would kick in between $250,001 and $500,000, followed by 7.85% from $500,001 to $1 million.
Single filers making more than $750,000 and joint filers making more than $1 million would pay a rate of 7.99% on all income earned.
The battle over whether that will happen pitted some of Illinois’ richest people against each other. Pritzker dropped at least $58 million on the Vote Yes for Fairness committee, which sought to pass the amendment. Meanwhile, Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin — Illinois’ richest man — kicked at least $53.75 million into the fight to defeat it.
The battle even spilled into a courtroom last month, when the conservative Illinois Policy Institute joined with three Cook County residents to sue over a government pamphlet explaining the amendment that had been mailed to voters. The lawsuit underscored critics’ arguments against the proposal.
While the pamphlet explains in part that, “the proposed amendment grants the state authority to impose higher income tax rates on higher income levels,” the Illinois Policy Institute sought a correction that said, “the proposed amendment grants the state authority to impose different income tax rates on different income levels.”
However, the lawsuit was not filed until early October. And Cook County Circuit Judge Celia Gamrath denied a temporary restraining order sought by the Illinois Policy Institute, noting that the language complained about in the lawsuit “was published, spread of record, and made widely known to the public months ago, long before early voting began.”
“Like it or not, the proposed amendment does give the state the ability to impose higher tax rates on those with higher income levels and lower income tax rates on those with middle or lower income levels, just as the ballot describes,” Gamrath wrote in a six-page order.
“The vaults at Federated Mint are going empty,” said Mary Ellen Withrow, the emeritus 40th Treasurer of the United States of America.
That’s because a decision by Federated Mint to put rarely seen U. S. Gov’t issued coins, some worth up to 50 times their face value, back i n circulation means unsearched Vault Bags l oaded with U. S. Gov’t issued coins dating back to the 1800’s are now being handed over to U. S. residents who find the first three digits of their zip code listed in today’s publication.
“These are not ordinary coins you find in your pocket change. These are rarely seen silver, scarce, collectible and non- circulating U. S. coins dating back to the 1800’s so we won’t be surprised if thousands of U. S. residents claim as many as they can get their hands on. That’s because after the bags were loaded with nearly 3 pounds of U. S. Gov’t issued coins the dates were never searched and the bags were securely sealed. That means there’s no telling what you’ll find until you search all the coins,” said Withrow.
“But don’t thank the Government. As Executive Advisor to Federated Mint, I get paid to inform and educate the general public regarding U. S. coins. Ever since the decision by Federated Mint to put rarely seen U. S. Gov’t issued coins back in circulation, I’m being asked how much are the unsearched Vault Bags worth? The answer is, there’s no way to tell. Coin values always fluctuate and there are never any guarantees, but we do know this. Each unsearched bag weighs nearly 3 pounds and is known to contain at least 5 Morgan Silver Dollars and these coins alone could be worth $ 35 - $ 325 in collector value each according to The Official Red Book, a Guide Book of United States Coins. So there’s no telling what you’ll find until you search through all the coins. But you better believe at just $ 980 these unsearched Vault Bags are a steal, “said Withrow.
The only thing U. S. residents who find their zip code printed in today’s publication need to do is call the National Toll- Free Hotline before the 48-hour deadline ends.
This is very important. The Vault Bag fee has been set for $ 1,500 for residents who miss the 48- hour deadline, but for those U. S. residents who beat the 48- hour deadline the Vault Bag fee is just $ 980 as long as they call the National Toll- Free Hotline before the deadline ends.
“Remember t his , we cannot s top collectors from buying up all the unsearched bags of coins they can get in this special advertising announcement. And you better believe with each bag being loaded with nearly 3 pounds of U. S. Gov’t issued coins
we’re guessing they’re going to go quick,” said Withrow.
The phone lines will be ringing off the hook beginning at precisely 8:30am this morning. That’s because each unsearched Vault Bag is loaded with over 100 highly sought after collector coins dating clear back to the 1800’s including iconic Morgan Silver Dollars, a historic Peace Silver Dollar, stunning Silver Walking Liberty Half Dollars, the collectible Silver Eisenhower Dollars, spectacular Silver Liberty Head Half and Quarter Dollars, rarely seen Silver Franklin Half Dollars, high demand President Kennedy Silver Half Dollars, beautiful Silver Standing Liberty Quarter Dollars, American Bicentennial Quarters, rare Liberty V Nickels, one cent Historic Wheat Coins including 1943 “Steel Cents”, one of the beautiful Winged Liberty Head Dimes, scarce Indian Head one cent U. S. coins and the last ever minted Buffalo Nickels.
“With all these collectible U. S Gov’t Issued coins up for grabs we’re doing all we can to answer all the calls,” said Withrow.
Thousands of U. S. residents stand to miss the deadline to claim the valuable U. S. Gov’t issued coins. That means U. S. residents who find the first three digits of their zip code listed in today’s publication can claim the unsearched bags of money for themselves and keep all the U. S. Gov’t issued coins found inside.
Just be sure to call before the deadline ends 48 hours from today’s publication date. ■