Wait: Governor’s GRT Testimony All Showmanship, Little Substance

May 9, 2007

Springfield, IL…State Representative Ron Wait (R-Belvidere) expressed his disappointment with the quality of the testimony given by the governor at the House Committee of the Whole hearing on the “gross receipts tax.”  Despite some proponent’s testimony, Wait reiterated his opposition to Blagojevich’s proposal for the largest tax increase in Illinois history

“The governor’s ‘tax fairness plan’ is only fair to the economy of Wisconsin.  Our local employers and consumers have had enough and can’t withstand the increased taxes Blagojevich would like to take from their pocketbooks no matter how good he tries to make it sound,” Wait said.  “With all of the real problems Illinois residents are facing, its time this governor stop trying to get on TV and get down to work.”

For the third time since Blagojevich announced the new tax proposal, the Gross Receipts Tax plan has changed.  Earlier this week, the Senate’s Executive Committee passed a version that increases the percentage of a company’s receipts that would be taxed by the state.

“While Blagojevich goes after Illinois businesses, we find out today that his tax proposal will actually lower the taxes paid by some of Illinois’ most successful companies,” Wait said in reference to recent revelations about the GRT.  Expected beneficiaries of the tax proposal’s tax-lowering results are the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade, and any number of other highly successful Illinois businesses that would effectively no longer pay a corporate income tax.

“All of Blagojevich’s pleas about going after these evil big businesses mean nothing since many of them would actually reduce their tax liability,” Wait said.  “This just goes to show that the governor is all showmanship with little substance.”