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font-size:10.0pt; mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} </style> <![endif]--> </head> <body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple style='tab-interval:.5in'> <div class=Section1> <table class=MsoNormalTable border=0 cellspacing=1 cellpadding=0 width=744 style='width:7.75in;mso-cellspacing:.7pt;mso-yfti-tbllook:1184;mso-padding-alt: 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt'> <tr style='mso-yfti-irow:0;mso-yfti-firstrow:yes'> <td width="70%" valign=top style='width:70.0%;padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt'> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><a href="mailto:tmaisch@ilchamber.org?subject=President%27s%20Message%20Feedback" title=""><span style='text-decoration:none;text-underline:none'><img border=0 width=760 height=102 id="_x0000_i1025" src="http://app.icontact.com/icp/loadimage.php/mogile/56557/ba2780d8d3816320d49a4949926493e4/image/jpeg" title=""></span><br> </a></span><span style='font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr style='mso-yfti-irow:1;mso-yfti-lastrow:yes'> <td width="70%" valign=top style='width:70.0%;padding:1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt 1.5pt'> <p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><a href="mailto:tmaisch@ilchamber.org?subject=President%27s%20Message%20Feedback" title="">email Todd</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; March 30, 2009</span></b><b><span style='font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'> </span></b><span style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> </td> </tr> </table> <p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; display:none;mso-hide:all'><o:p>&nbsp;</o:p></span></p> <table class=MsoNormalTable border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=750 style='width:562.5pt;border-collapse:collapse;border:none;mso-border-alt:outset #FFCC33 .75pt; mso-yfti-tbllook:1184;mso-padding-alt:2.25pt 2.25pt 2.25pt 2.25pt' height=28> <tr style='mso-yfti-irow:0;mso-yfti-firstrow:yes'> <td width="70%" valign=top style='width:70.0%;border:inset #FFCC33 1.0pt; mso-border-alt:inset #FFCC33 .75pt;padding:2.25pt 2.25pt 2.25pt 2.25pt'> <p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><strong><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'>Where s the focus on the economy?</span></strong><span style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><br> The Illinois Chamber of Commerce recognizes that cleaning up after Rod Blagojevich is a tough task for our new governor and we respect his commitment to this task. We welcome the fresh ideas on a long-overdue capital plan and appreciate the priority and speed Governor Quinn s budget gives to a capital plan.<br> <br> However after hearing the new Governor s first budget speech, we are concerned about two things not appearing to be given much priority in this plan: focus on the economy  and jobs, in particular  and focus on employers, whose tax burden keeps rising while incentives and jobs creation programs don t.&nbsp; In fact, this budget targets employers with the loss of job supporting incentives.<br> <br> If this plan were passed, Illinois would have the 4th highest corporate income tax rate in the nation, though we would be close to tied for second.&nbsp; Illinois at 9.7% would be surpassed only by Iowa at 12%, Minnesota at 9.8%, Pennsylvania at 9.99%, and DC at 9.975%. (All three of these states have graduated taxes, but the rates shown are the highest rate for that state.) This would be one more reason for employers to look elsewhere to avoid Illinois long-standing anti-business climate.<br> <br> If you question what Illinois employers have been facing the past six or seven months, take a quick look at the <a href="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=-1&amp;msgid=0&amp;act=11111&amp;c=56557&amp;admin=0&amp;destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bls.gov%2Feag%2Feag.il.htm">Bureau of Labor Statistics  Economy at a Glance </a> web page on Illinois. The only numbers growing here are lost jobs, unemployment, and the increasing pace of the losses. Disappearing jobs mean disappearing Illinois businesses.<br> <br> In his proposed budget which attempts to fill an $11 billion+ deficit, the Governor calls for  sacrifice by everyone but particularly seems to want it from the business community. In addition to the 50% corporate income tax increase that could cost Illinois businesses $350 million next fiscal year, Governor Quinn has proposed some additional business &quot;tax reform&quot; measures. We call them  tax increases but since they were formerly called &quot;loophole&quot; closures, perhaps we re making some progress, at least semantically.<br> <br> Businesses are struggling to be successful and the few that are successful are getting walloped. About 85% of small business owners pay individual income taxes rather than corporate tax rates so they are not spared. Some small businesses are barely hanging on and, if they fail, more jobs will go down with them. Large Illinois businesses have cut thousands of jobs and say any additional costs at this point will result in more payroll cuts. Manufacturers have been particularly hard hit, going from a 2.5% drop in jobs in September 2008 to 5.8% in January 2009.</span><span style='mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><br> Gov. Quinn attempted to soften the blow of a proposed income tax increase by offering to carve out millions of lower income individuals and families from the state s tax base. Yet he failed to offer any similar olive branch to Illinois businesses, suggesting instead that the business community fails to pay its fair share.</span><span style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><br> This rhetoric runs counter to the sentiments of other governors in high unemployment states where, as in Illinois, businesses are already struggling to survive in the lagging economy. Governor Bev Perdue of North Carolina, for example, proposed small business tax relief and more economic development funding for small to medium-sized communities. Governor Jon Corzine of New Jersey also reformed the state s tax code to make it friendlier to businesses, including a provision that allows businesses to carry forward tax loss benefits up to 20 years.</span><span style='mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><br> The Tax Foundation in Washington DC was quick to point out that Quinn s proposed budget would in fact place Illinois at a severe disadvantage for attracting and retaining business. In addition to making Illinois corporate income tax rates the 4th highest in the nation, a Tax Foundation analysis shows that Illinois would move from the top half to the bottom half of the nation in terms of  business-friendliness. </span><span style='mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><br> Not only does the proposed increase in the state s corporate income tax contribute to Illinois decline in business friendliness, but so do the proposed corporate tax loophole closures, many of which were resurrected from the Blagojevich years. These proposed loophole closures or  reforms include eliminating the Manufacturers Purchasing Credit (MPC) and decoupling from crucial federal tax stimulus provisions, both under the 2004 law and the most recent stimulus package.</span><span style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><br> Governor Quinn s proposed budget also targets new tax code changes that would further harm businesses, including limiting the credits a corporation can take to 50% of their tax owed and scaling the retailers discount back by 1% (from 1.75% to 0.75%).</span><span style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><br> The Chamber maintains that the Governor s budget fails to recognize the needs of the business community and the economic realities that surround our state and our nation. His proposed operating budget not only does nothing to promote more job creation in the face of record-breaking state unemployment numbers, it would also increase the cost of doing business and likely cost more jobs in this state.</span><span style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><span style='font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><br> A group of Illinois business leaders including Illinois Chamber members, met with the Governor last Wednesday, March 25 in his office at the Statehouse for a jobs summit. Unlike his predecessor, Gov. Quinn was very engaged in the dialogue and showed a good command of the issues. Our members in the meeting, including Caterpillar s Tim Elder, delivered our bottom line message: Gov. Quinn and Illinois elected leaders must focus on approaches to help Illinois employers retain and grow jobs or our state s economy will continue to suffer. We will keep repeating our message and appreciate your support in these efforts.</span><span style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> </td> </tr> <tr style='mso-yfti-irow:1;mso-yfti-lastrow:yes'> <td valign=top style='border:inset #FFCC33 1.0pt;border-top:none;mso-border-top-alt: inset #FFCC33 .75pt;mso-border-alt:inset #FFCC33 .75pt;padding:2.25pt 2.25pt 2.25pt 2.25pt'> <div> <p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'>Message from the President - Copyright © 2009 The Illinois Chamber of Commerce <br> <a href="mailto:Deb%20McCarver%20%3cdmccarver@ilchamber.org%3e" title="mailto:Debra%20McCarver%20&lt;dmccarver@ilchamber.org&gt;">Deb McCarver</a>, Editor</span><span style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> <div> <p class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;</span><span style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> </td> </tr> </table> <p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;</span><span style='font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Trebuchet MS","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'>&nbsp;</span><span style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class=MsoNormal><span style='mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"'><img border=0 width=1 height=1 id="_x0000_i1029" src="http://click.icptrack.com/icp/track.php?msgid=0&amp;act=11111&amp;r=-1&amp;c=56557"><o:p></o:p></span></p> </div> </body> </html>