SPRINGFIELD – Seniors are leaving Illinois as their property taxes grow and their modest incomes don't. They simply can't keep up with burden, even though they'd rather stay in the vicinity of their families.
State Rep. Steve Reick (R-Woodstock) filed three bills affecting taxes this week in Springfield. The first, HB 3013, would provide tax relief for those over 65 living on federal adjusted gross income of $50,000 or less.
“The property tax burden falls hard upon seniors on fixed incomes, and while the credit will in most cases be modest, it will help them stretch their limited incomes,” Reick said. “It may help a senior citizen with an electric bill, some groceries or a prescription. Anyway, we’ll keep taking small steps until we figure out how to provide substantive relief to everyone in the state.”
Reick's a brand new state representative from Woodstock, but with 35 years of experience as a tax and real estate attorney, he understands Illinois statutes pertaining real estate and the taxes people pay. During his first term Reick hopes his knowledge of the tax code will help to change it for those who pay those taxes.
“Tax law is tedious, and over the years I have dealt with provisions that I have felt were overly burdensome for Illinois residents and families,” Reick said. “I’m hoping my experiences can facilitate some much-needed reforms that will provide some real tax relief while also simplifying processes.”
A second bill, HB 380, seeks to amend the Illinois Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act by bringing Illinois law in line with processes used by the other 49 states in the nation.
“When it comes to death taxes, also known as estate taxes, the Illinois process is extremely laborious and time consuming,” said Reick. “Through HB 380 I would like to change the death tax provision in Illinois law so it mirrors what’s already being done in every other state. Generally speaking, the changes I’m proposing would lower the amount of death taxes owed for most Illinoisans.”
Reick has also filed HB 2576, a bill that would add a county designation to all individual income tax forms.
“This simple change could provide a great deal of benefit for those who study the movement of Illinoisans from county to county within the state,” Reick said. “Today we can tell who moves into or out of Illinois, but we are unable to easily collect data about trends related to migration within our state.”
