Crains: Guv's big new biz tax blitz

Crains on Blagojevich's looming Gross Receipts Tax.

Though it's billed as closing loopholes, Gov. Blagojevich's pending plan seems designed not just to rearrange but to raise taxes. That may not sit well with gubernatorial antagonist Michael Madigan, speaker of the Illinois House, whose spokesman says, "A tax of that magnitude would have as much or more impact as a tax on income or sales, and people have rejected that."

Mr. Johnson, the former revenue director, raises another concern: research indicating that about 70% of the cost of levies such as a gross-receipts tax either are passed on to consumers or forced onto workers in the form of lower wages, he says.

The Big Box ordinance, the minimum wage increase, all seemed mostly symbolic gestures to me. This tax is going to passed onto everyone and will hit lowest-income families hardest. Crains one of the few talking about it. You wonder where the progressives go when an awfully unprogressive tax comes our way. HT Reverse Spin