CHICAGO – Republican Governor Bruce Rauner says Trump's tax plan is "punishing."
While the rest of the nation is excited about the amount federal income tax deductions being doubled to $24,000 for married couples and $12,000 for single filers and the per-child tax deduction also doubled, Republican Governor Bruce Rauner is not happy. He's upset about the local, state and mortgage deductions being capped at $10,000 per year.
Rauner said the tax reform all Illinois Republican Congress members supported will increase the cost of living for Illinoisans.
BREAKING: State Rep. Jeanne Ives responds to Rauner's comments HERE
Why? Because Illinois is one of those deep blue "high tax" states in which the cap could affect middle class taxpayers. After all, Illinois pays some of the highest property taxes in the nation and the legislature voted in 2017 to hike personal and business income taxes.
The governor made his frustrations known during a WJOL radio interview with Kevin Kollins Wednesday:
HOST: Here in Illinois many people believe the middle class, especially in Illinois, are going to get hurt by this plan. Because of the fact that our local taxes and state taxes and the mortgage cap is going to hurt us. Do some of your plans address that? […]
RAUNER: […] The reality is cause Illinois is over taxed, and many of those taxes are no longer deductible over a 10,000 total tax burden level, that's going to hurt a lot of middle class families and higher income families. It's going to push more employers out of the state, that's going to hurt job creation, and that's going to increase the cost of living for the people of Illinois. So, it's punishing in that regard.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee jumped all over Rauner's comments Wednesday, saying he "finally gets something right" because "Peter Roskam, Randy Hultgren, Mike Bost, and Rodney Davis have been unable to admit: the GOP tax scam is going to hike taxes on middle class families and homeowners across Illinois."
Roskam, who worked on the reform plan, said the day the bill passed that taxpayers in his 6th CD would save over $4000 in federal taxes as a result of the Trump plan.
“After months of work developing a tax code that prioritizes middle-income families and small businesses, Congress has sent a bill to the President’s desk that I am pleased to say accomplishes that goal. Taxpayers in every tax bracket on average will see a tax break under this new tax code and the average family of four in my district making the median income of $135,485 and taking the standard deduction will save more than $4,500," Roskam said in a statement.
“Today, Congress seized the opportunity of a lifetime and the American people will reap the benefits,” he said.
