Income Taxes on the Ballot

Chris EdwardsThis election, Americans will not only be choosing politicians for office but also whether to increase or decrease taxes in many places.In Arizona, voters will decide onProposition 208, which would raise income taxes by 3.5 percentage points on high earners. Polls areshowing the proposition may pass.In Illinois, voterswill decide whether to amend the state constitution to convert the state ’s flat individual income tax into a multi ‐​rate system. The current income tax rate of 4.95% would be replaced by a six ‐​rate system with a top rate of 7.99%.The Illinois ballot measure was spearheaded by Governor J.B. Pritzker, who received an “F” on the newCato Institute fiscal report card. According toBallotpedia, billionaire Pritzker has personally contributed $56 million to the 2020 ballot campaign for passage.Which side do voters usually take on income tax ballot questions? My intern, Hunter Brazal, looked throughBallotpedia over the 2010 to 2019 period to find statewide individual income tax measures. He found 20 including 13 aimed at increasing taxes and 7 aimed at cutting or limiting taxes.To increase the appeal of tax ‐​increase proposals, supporters often pair them with promised increases in specific spending. Arizona’s Proposition 208, for example, promises to increase education spending.There is modestly good news: voters favored the small ‐​government side on 12 of the 20 tax measures. Here are the results with vote p...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs