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Economic Vision Luncheon Recap

Economic Vision Luncheon Recap

Published: August 20, 2010

“Hi. I’m from Washington and I’m here to help.”


While his opening joke got a pretty big laugh, Scott A. Hodge, president of Washington DC’s The Tax Foundation, did indeed come to help. His keynote speech at the 2010 McLean County Chamber of Commerce Economic Vision Luncheon had the nearly 170 assembled business and community leaders engrossed as he explained the issues with Illinois’ tax system and how it might be contributing to the migration of both people and businesses away from the state.


Rep. Dan Brady (R-Bloomington) listens to Scott HodgeThe Chamber holds the annual Economic Vision Luncheon as an opportunity to examine where the local economy is and where it might be heading. “Illinois is much like General Motors before the bailout,” said Hodge to the audience at the Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. “Your cost structure is out of line. You have benefits you have promised to your employees that are unaffordable. And you’re asking your customers to pay too high of a price for an inferior product.”


According to Hodge, Illinois is trying to balance the budget on the backs of a shrinking taxpayer base. His research found that more than 325,000 people have left the state over the last 15 years, with more than 100,000 taking their income across the state line to our neighbors. Among the possible reasons stated for this migration is the well-below-average “business-friendliness” of Illinois’ tax structure. Most of the solutions he proposed had to do with finding ways to lessen the corporate tax burden which will, according to the Tax Foundation, increase wages and make Illinois more attractive to both employers and amployees.    


“Cutting the state’s business tax burden and implementing some pro growth tax reforms would go a long way toward reversing these trends.”

 

Click here to download Scott A. Hodge's Powerpoint presentation.


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