Land of Leavin’?: Illinois Pushing People to Call Indiana Home

During a first week of January when most legislatures were just beginning their work for the year, our neighbors to the west were taking action that prompted two responses:

  1. Relief, once again, that I work and live in the Hoosier state
  2. Thanks for further opening the state borders with one-way traffic heading from Illinois to Indiana

What are they in the process of doing in Springfield? Increase individual income, corporate income and cigarette taxes to historially high levels. A 75% hike for citizens, 49% for businesses (resulting in the dubious distinction of the highest corporate tax rate in the country and the largest combined {national and state} rate in the industrialized world) and more than 50% on cigarettes.

The Tax Foundation goes into detail on the changes, but common sense tells one that the effort to fix past out-of-control spending is misguided. Economic development officials up and down the west side of Indiana (along with state officials) should be working overtime to attract businesses, entrepreneurs and anyone else looking to escape the Land of Economic Lunacy.