The candidates for Illinois governor are getting around to the dreaded “T-word.”
They’re talking about taxes.
Republican Bruce Rauner wants to tax 32 services that currently are not.
Janitorial services, membership fees at golf clubs, and some trailer parks.
He says all told - Illinois could raise $600 million.
The trade-off is he says he’ll gradually lower the income tax rate - and that any property tax hike have voter approval.
"The critical thing is that we take the long-term structural changes over a four-year period so we become a growth state again. That’s the core essential thing that our current leader is not getting done," Rauner said.
Democratic incumbent Pat Quinn says Rauner’s overall tax plan would lose more money than it’d bring in.
"This is a tax on business and on everyday people as they go about their daily lives. I think it’s a terrible idea," Quinn said.
Quinn wants to keep the income tax at a higher rate.
Minimum Wage
Meanwhile, A referendum will ask voters whether the minimum wage should go up to $10 an hour.
Quinn wants voters to say “yes."
He criticizes his Republican opponent for only supporting a higher wage - only if it’s paired with other business reforms.
Rauner says he supports raising Illinois’ minimum wage if other policy changes are made - for example, giving more small businesses tax credits.