Manley Backs Graduated Income Tax to Reduce Burden on Middle-Class Families

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – State Rep. Natalie Manley, D-Joliet, is joining a growing number of lawmakers advocating for an overhaul of the state tax system and the implementation of a graduated income tax.

“Middle-class and working families pay more than their fair share in taxes,” Manley said. “They have to stretch every dollar and save every penny in order to provide a better life for their children. Changing state tax policy and implementing a graduated income tax will help reduce the amount of taxes they have to pay and provide much needed relief.”

Manley is co-sponsoring House Resolution 1025, which calls on state officials to support and pass a graduated income tax in Illinois. A recent study by the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, a nonpartisan organization, found that a graduated income tax would provide a tax break to 98 percent of taxpayers and bring in an additional $2 billion in revenue by requiring the ultra-wealthy to pay their fair share. This additional revenue would help fund vital services that the state’s most vulnerable citizens rely upon, such as home-delivered meals for seniors and breast and cervical cancer screenings for working women. Manley has fought to ensure that the state has a balanced budget that funds these essential programs, but the state needs additional resources to repair the damage that was caused by Gov. Bruce Rauner’s two-year budget crisis.

“Illinois needs a balanced budget and over the past three years we’ve seen that cuts alone will not solve the problems the state faces,” Manley said. “While I will continue to work with my fellow legislators to cut wasteful spending, we also need millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share. A graduated income tax would provide much needed relief to working families while also protecting funding for social services and education and paying down our backlog of bills.”