Congressman Peter Roskam

Representing the 6th District of Illinois

Roskam: Tax Hike That Threatens 700,000 Jobs Is Not ‘Drawing the Line in the Proper Way’

Jul 17, 2012
Press Release

WASHINGTON-- Today, Congressman Peter Roskam (IL-06) released the following statement in response to an Ernst & Young study on the economic impact of President Obama’s proposed tax hike:

“This report confirms what many of us already knew—that the president’s plan to increase taxes on small businesses under the guise of Americans ‘paying their fair share,’ would further decimate our already flagging economy.  We are struggling with over 40 months of over 8 percent unemployment, and the president and Congressional Democrats seem all too willing create even bigger jobless numbers in pursuit of a talking point. 

“Recently, Senator Dick Durbin said he believes the president has, ‘drawn the line in the proper way’ when it comes to raising taxes on small businesses.  Senator Durbin should explain to his constituents back home what he means by ‘drawing the line in the proper way,’ when the president’s tax hike would send thousands of Illinoisans to the unemployment line.”

To read the full report click here.

Today’s Ernst & Young study found that allowing parts of the ’01, ’03 tax rates to increase will force many small business owners to freeze hiring or reduce employment:

  • Nationwide, the report estimates that over 700,000 jobs would be lost 

The economic effect on Illinois:

  • Illinois is ranked 6th for job loss

      oEstimated to lose 30,700 jobs

      oUS Total Job Loss: 710,000

  • 1) CA (-76,400); 2) TX (-56,800); 3) NY (-46,900); 4) FL (-39,400); 5) PA (-30,800)
  • Estimated to lose $9 billion in economic output

(EY Study, “Long-run macroeconomic impact of increasing tax rates on high-income taxpayers in 2013,” July 2012)

According to a previous Ernst & Young study on pass-through entities, which are businesses who pay their taxes through individual returns and not corporate rates, 54% of people in Illinois—or over 3 million people—are employed by pass-through entities

 (EY Study, “The Flow-Through Business Sector and Tax Reform,” April 2011)

 

 

 

 

 

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