Over the last few weeks, President Barack Obama has adamantly supported raising taxes on corporations and small businesses that employ millions of American workers as a precondition for cutting our bloated federal spending.
To see the real-world effect of this proposal on jobs and the economy, President Obama’s home state provides a useful and cautionary example.
This past January, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed into law a 67 percent increase in the state personal income tax rate and a 45 percent increase in the state corporate tax rate. Between its passage and June, Illinois lost 56,223 jobs, according to statistics released last week.
To combat the job loss caused by the higher taxes on businesses, the Illinois Department of Commerce “has already shelled out some $230 million in corporate subsidies to keep more than two dozen companies from fleeing the state.”
So not only is Illinois bleeding productive jobs, but it’s now allowing the government to pick winners and losers.
Extracting an ever-increasing toll from job creators is simply the wrong answer for American jobs. Just ask the 56,000 Illinoisans who have lost their jobs since January. Spreading this failure nationwide is simply not an option.
We are in a debt crisis not because we tax too little, but because Democrat-led Washington spends beyond its means. House Republicans have been focused on encouraging and providing certainty (not new burdens) to our nation’s job creators — and trying to get our debt and deficit-spending under control.
The rest of America simply cannot afford more of the failed policies of the president’s home state, and House Republicans will fight against tax hikes so that we may ensure a brighter future for generations to come.
Congressman Pete Sessions represents Texas’s 32nd Congressional District. Congressman John Shimkus represents Illinois’s 19th Congressional District.