Will County Gazette

When it comes to tax structure, Republican Congressional candidate Rick Laib struggles to understand why Illinois is headed in the opposite direction of every other Midwest state. 

“We have a tried and proven formula for making this state more business-friendly: deregulate and lower taxes,” Laib, who is running against U.S. Rep. Bill Foster (D-Aurora) in the 11th District, told the Will County Gazette. “We do not have any examples where businesses grow by way of greater regulations and we have no examples of people thriving financially by way of increased taxes.”

Yet at a time when nearby Indiana is in the process of cutting its corporate tax rates by almost half, Illinois’ are on the upswing and could be climbing even higher if Gov. J.B. Pritzker gets his way with his proposed fair tax.

Small businesses would be hit even harder, with tax rates on some operations jumping by as much as 47% at a time when the industry is already reeling from the impact of the still lingering COVID-19 pandemic.

“The very thing that other states, like Indiana, are doing to attract businesses and grow their economy, Illinois is doing the opposite,” Laib added. “Illinois is heading in the wrong direction on this issue and it should be no surprise when business owners who love providing a particular service move to a state that would offer them the biggest advantages for doing what they love.”

In addition, Illinois Policy Institute reports enacting a progressive tax would drop Illinois from 36th to 48th in the country for its business tax climate.

Laib argues the sting of that could be lasting.

“It will financially crush us,” he said. “We are incentivizing people to do whatever they can to avoid paying them. We are turning into a state of takers while we encourage the contributors and producers to move elsewhere.”