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SUGGESTED ACTION AGENDA TO HALT GOVERNOR
BLAGOJEVICH’S PLANS FOR HUGE SPENDING AND TAX INCREASES, IN
PARTICULAR A NEW GROSS RECEIPTS TAX AND A NEW PAYROLL TAX.
I have received phone calls and emails offering
assistance and asking for advice about how to help fight
Governor Blagojevich’s ill-conceived gross receipts tax
scheme. I am also being asked what the Illinois Chamber is
doing. While this memorandum is not intended to be totally
comprehensive I trust it will help to answer some of your
questions and offer some guidance as to action steps you, your
company and other business owners and managers can engage in
immediately to confront the ever increasing cost of doing
business in Illinois and avoid further disruption of the
Illinois economy. I urge you to share this memo with your
fellow workers, as well as, other business owners and managers
who should be recruited to help influence this important
debate.
Although Governor Blagojevich has proposed the
largest increase in taxes and spending in the history of
Illinois, focus your attention and opposition on the members
of the General Assembly. The Governor has proposed actions
that are undoubtedly detrimental to employers and the state’s
economy, but only the members of the General Assembly can vote
to impose new taxes and hike state spending. The members of
the legislature must be convinced these proposals are not in
their best interest or in the best interest of the people of
Illinois. Thanks for your help. Doug
___________________________________________________________
Each Illinois Chamber member could pursue any of
the following suggestions:
A. Use your influence and
contacts to help build statewide opposition to the Governor’s
gross receipts tax proposal among all the state’s
employers.
1. Encourage
your local chamber of commerce as well as other professional,
industry and trade associations that you or your company
finances to adopt a resolution or policy statement objecting
to the imposition of a gross receipts tax in Illinois. The
Illinois Chamber Board of Directors adopted a policy statement
in opposition to the gross receipts tax at its December 2006
meeting. A copy of the policy statement is available on our
web site. You may find it a useful reference to share with
others. The Illinois Chamber has already made this request via
email to every local chamber in Illinois.
2. If adopted, make sure the
local chamber, professional or trade association sends a copy
of their policy statement or resolution to the senator(s) and
representative(s) elected to represent your community or
region. If a resolution or policy statement is adopted by
statewide association action ask the association to
communicate its action to ALL members of the Illinois General
Assembly on the association’s letterhead.
3. If adopted, make sure the
local chamber, professional or trade association sends a
notice to EVERY member of the organization and encourages
EVERY member of the organization to communicate their
opposition and disapproval of the Governor’s gross receipts
tax plan to their elected members of the General Assembly.
B. Take action now.
1. Communicate with your
legislators about your individual experience, perspective or
opposition to imposing a gross receipts tax on all business
transactions in Illinois. Do this by phone, personal visit,
letter, email or whatever method might be most appropriate and
available to you. If your business has multiple locations it
is appropriate to communicate with every legislator who has
one of your facilities in his or her district.
2. In addition to official
communications on your business letterhead it is also
appropriate to write personal letters and to encourage all
managers and employees of your company to do like wise. Keep
in mind that if you work and live in two or more different
communities it is appropriate to reach out to legislators who
represent your residence and your business locations.
3. The Illinois Chamber web
site has an easy way for you and your employees to communicate
your opinions and concerns to legislators about the gross
receipts tax and the proposed new employee withholding tax.
Direct your employees and others to the “Grassroots
Action Center” and encourage them to use it. Contact
Todd Maisch at 217-522-5512 for further assistance.
4. Make an effort to consider
and calculate what the imposition of a gross receipts tax
policy in Illinois may mean to your business, industry,
community and the Illinois economy. Invite legislators to
visit your facility or facilities to learn first-hand what a
gross receipts tax may mean to your company, your business,
your employees and the community. Legislators will benefit
from multiple personal encounters and gaining knowledge about
the adverse impact the gross receipts tax may have upon their
constituents.
If not by yourself, then consider
convening a legislative briefing with your state senator(s)
and representative(s) that includes other local business
owners. Invite other business leaders to join with you in
telling their situations, experiences and concerns.
5. The Illinois Chamber would
like to collect real life examples of how individual business
owners and companies think the imposition of the Governor’s
gross receipts tax plans will affect them or their industries.
We would welcome such information by email or postal delivery.
We want to build a portfolio of examples to help convince
legislators that Illinois employers in their districts are
informed and resolute that the GRT is a bad idea. If you
provide examples be sure to tell us which community or
legislative district(s) your company is located in so we may
align the business with the appropriate elected officials to
help us with lobbying.
6. Don’t
forget the objective of your contacts with legislators should
be to inform them how detrimental this tax scheme may be to
your business, your industry and the state’s economic future
and to secure a commitment to oppose the GRT. Ask
legislators for a commitment to vote against the taxes the
governor is seeking. If you are successful in obtaining a
legislator’s commitment that he or she will not vote to
implement a gross receipts tax in Illinois contact Todd Maisch
217-522-5512 or tmaisch@ilchamber.org
C. Implement a media strategy.
1. If you or your company have
opinions and experiences you are willing to share with local
media outlets, especially with newspaper publishers and
station owners/managers, a personal story with a local angle
is likely to be well received. If you know the local newspaper
publisher or editor ask for an opportunity to visit with the
editorial board to talk about what a new GRT in Illinois may
mean to your company and the future of business in Illinois.
2. Join with other business
owners, managers and community leaders to convene press
conferences to let local business owners tell their stories
about how the GRT threatens their business. Chambers and
allied groups in Champaign, Quad Cities, Rockford, and Quincy
have already done this with positive results. Illinois Chamber
staff can assist with messaging, technical details and
planning advice. Contact Todd Maisch at 217-522-5512 or tmaisch@ilchamber.org.
3. Invite reporters to your
business and engage in personal tours or interviews to explain
the cost of doing business issues you face every day and how
huge new tax increases by the Illinois General Assembly would
affect your operations or plans for expansion.
4. Set the record straight and
confront detractors who continue to suggest employers don’t
pay their fair share of taxes or that there are no economic
consequences to political ambitions that increase the cost of
doing business in Illinois. You are encouraged to write
letters to the editors of local print media publications and
seek opportunities to participate in call-in radio programs.
Help educate the members of the General Assembly and inform
the public about what it means to operate a successful
business and compete in a dynamic global marketplace. It is
especially important that you respond to the challenge when
you recognize misleading statements or falsehoods are being
presented.
D. Help finance the campaign against
higher business taxes in Illinois.
1. If you are prepared to
contribute funds to help our opposition campaign to the gross
receipts tax, the Illinois Chamber is leading the charge and
would welcome financial support. Checks should be sent to the
Illinois Chamber, 215 East Adams, Springfield, Illinois,
62701. Including a cover note or check memo indicating a
contribution is for GRT expenses will help the accounting
office. Contributions to the Illinois Chamber Political Action
Committee (Chamber PAC) may be submitted
online by credit card.
2. The Illinois Coalition for
Jobs, Growth and Prosperity is developing and funding a media
outreach campaign. The Illinois Chamber is a founding member
and active participant in this Coalition and would welcome
financial help for the opposition media campaign. Checks for
helping to finance a statewide media campaign in opposition to
the gross receipts tax should be made payable to the Illinois
Coalition for Jobs, Growth and Prosperity and may be sent to
the Illinois Chamber at 215 East Adams, Springfield, Illinois
62701.
This tax, once implemented, will cost employers
and business owners billions every year, so sending money to
the Illinois Chamber to fight this irrational tax scheme
should be recognized as a worthwhile short-term investment
that may save a fortune in future tax liability.
E.
Learn more.
The Illinois Chamber will launch a
special web site dedicated to the Gross Receipts Tax campaign
where you can stay informed on details of the legislative
proposal, as well as, related activities and information. The
web site will be launched March 14. The address is: www.largesttaxincreaseever.com
Your Illinois Chamber will continue to write and
speak on this subject for the balance of the legislative
session. Illinois Chamber staff will continue to participate
in informational meetings, conference calls and lobby
coalition sessions with other business, professional and trade
association activity in Springfield. The Chamber’s government
affairs committee will continue to coordinate activity with
individual corporate and contract government affairs
professionals. For additional information or for invitations
to particpate in these or other activities contact Todd Maisch
at 217-522-5512 or email tmaisch@ilchamber.org.
The Illinois Chamber’s Tax Institute members represent
a tremendous resource on GRT and all other tax issues. The Tax
Institute is the leading technical advisor and resource for
analysis of the details of tax proposals introduced in the
Illinois General Assembly every year. The Chamber’s Tax
Institute will be the focal point for gathering and
disseminating the tax policy and intellectual resources
necessary to build the case to defeat the GRT in Illinois.
Membership in the Tax Institute is available to Illinois
Chamber members with corporate tax departments. Contact Connie
Beard at 217-522-5512 or cbeard@ilchamber.org to inquire about
Tax Institute activity, information and membership.
F. There is a payroll tax, too!
Be
reminded the Governor’s tax scheme is not limited to the Gross
Receipts Tax. The Governor also seeks a 3% payroll tax on all
employers with ten or more employees. The payroll tax will
be required whether or not the company currently provides
healthcare benefits. The new tax is anticipated to contain
a refund or credit mechanism, but to qualify for a full refund
of the payroll tax the company’s healthcare benefit plan must
be equivalent to at least 4% of payroll.
If you have
questions, seek additional information or wish to discuss the
matter further you may reach me by email at dwhitley@ilchamber.org
or by phone at 312-983-7103. As John Paul Jones said, “We have
not yet begun to fight!” |
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