I cannot believe how ill-informed some of you are when it comes to the internet, sales tax, and the bureaucratic bloat in Illinois - but then again, you do elect some real boneheads, so maybe it's no real surprise.

Taxes KILL businesses and kill commerce especially when you are in a competitive environment.  That being said, let's look at the strategy of the political brain trust of Illinois as well as Cook County.  They think adding taxes will pay for more government.

CUSTOMS AGENTS NEEDED FOR COOK COUNTY & ILLINOIS

Many businesses and executives have changed how they do business in order to avoid that Cook County 10.25% sales tax.  From setting up purchasing offices in outlying areas for major corporations (including Sears) to just arranging business luncheons to suburban locations, executives are finding ways to short-circuit the greediness of bloated bureaucratic government.  Lawsuits are being filed by government agencies claiming the loss of tens of millions of dollars.  Maybe they should cut their budgets to reflect the downturn in revenues.

Consumers, just like rich people, executives and companies, will find a way around the internet taxes and instead of collecting more money as assumed by the Illinois Brain Trust" (an oxymoron), tax revenues will (and have) declined.

First, Cook County's commerce-killing 10.25% sales tax is being evaded by many people who just drive off to outlying counties and/or Kenosha, WI (5%) and Indiana.  These are average people, not some multi-million dollar-salaried executive.  They are tired of being over-taxed.

Are you going to stop these people at the Cook County border to see what they "claim" as goods bought over the line when they come back?  That sounds so ludicrous, but I bet some politician will suggest that and create another bureaucratic agency with more patronage jobs for relatives to "collect sales tax owed to Cook County".

“Hey, it’s job creation”.  You can just hear them trying to justify their “jobs program”.

It will be a jobs program from building new “customs” offices at places like the Tollway to creating some new uniform and then telling all employees that they MUST buy their overpriced uniforms from some politically-connected uniform store.

Easy solution:  Drop the tax down and drop some of the overpaid patronage jobs in Cook County and Illinois.  Those of you who whine about collecting more tax are probably on the payroll.

Next, the State of Illinois.  CUT TAXES and CUT the budget.  Easy fix if you had some legislators and a governor who could see reality.  Raising taxes in a recession is like saying, "Color me stupid".

Corporations and their executives look at Illinois as a "fly-over" state.  Why locate here where there are a lot of taxes on a corporation.  Keep flying to the next state to look for a location for new corporate facilities.

HOW DO YOU GET COMPANIES TO LOCATE HERE?

There is no magic as to how to grow the corporate tax base here in Illinois.  Create a more inviting environment.  That does not mean giving $100,000,000 to a company to stay here or $1,000,000 for office upgrades to a company bringing in 50 employees from Ohio (not new hires from Illinois).  Lower and/or eliminate some of the corporate taxes for everyone.

Until then, see you in Kenosha at the Discount Mall (where there are ALWAYS a huge amount of Illinois plates in their three parking lots).  They also fill up across the border.  Who wouldn’t?  Gas is about $.35 - $.50 a gallon cheaper than it is in the City of Chicago.

CARLINI-ISM :  Raising taxes in a recession is like saying, “Color me stupid.”

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Copyright 2011 – James Carlini