SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — What a state takes away, it also can give back.
Less than a year after raising personal and corporate income taxes, Illinois officials are considering a $250 million package of tax breaks for several prominent businesses threatening to leave the state, including Sears and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. To make the measure more palatable, individual taxpayers also would get a dollop of relief.
The idea of giving tax breaks to companies is a hard sell in the state Legislature when many families are struggling and the Occupy Wall Street movement is reflecting anger at corporate interests. But advocates say that if Illinois doesn’t take action, the businesses and their thousands of jobs will be lured away by states that are eager to take advantage.
“If we don’t do it, another state will. That’s the reality of the world in which we live,” said Rep. John Bradley, a Marion Democrat who is chairman of the Illinois House Revenue Committee.
The Illinois Senate approved the tax breaks Tuesday, but the House rejected them with an 8-99 vote. With no hope of a quick resolution, lawmakers ended their brief session.
Some legislators question whether Sears and other large corporations would really uproot their operations and leave Illinois. They worry that giving the companies what they want will encourage similar demands from other businesses.
