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Chicago Fed Governors Argue for Property Tax Boost
Three Chicago Federal Reserve governors argue in favor of a 1% statewide increase in residential property taxes to help cover Illinois’ unfunded pension liability. The Chicago Fed’s Thomas Haasl, Rick Mattoon and Thomas Walstrum cite estimates that the state’s unfunded liability is currently $129.1 billion.
Because the debt is so large, it’s unrealistic to think that new taxes (such as a tax on legalized marijuana or financial transactions) or increases that affect only a narrow segment of the population will be enough,” they write. “Illinois will have to find additional revenues from already existing tax bases, either by increasing rates, expanding the definition of what is taxable, or a combination of the two.”
CoreLogic data show that Illinois’ residential property tax is the nation’s highest at 2.67%. New York State comes in second at 2.53%. None of Illinois’ five neighboring states has a residential property tax higher than 1.95%.
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