Illinois lawmaker proposes tax break for employee raises
SPRINGFIELD (The Center Square) – An Illinois lawmaker is making another attempt to grant tax breaks for small businesses that give raises to their employees.
State Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford) filed House Bill 186 on Jan. 22. If enacted, it would provide a tiered tax break for businesses who give raises to their workers.
“After the minimum wage increase last summer, I had heard a lot from small business owners in my district,” he said. “This is my hope to help our small business owners who are in compliance.”
The bill would give a small business a 25% tax break on the difference in an employee’s pay if their total pay doesn’t exceed $37,400 annually. That tax break scales down to a 15% credit if their employee is paid less than $52,000 in the taxable year.
“I wanted to provide any type of relief so that they could stay in compliance with the minimum wage increases,” Smith said.
The bill was first filed during the 2020 session but, like hundreds of others, didn’t get a hearing due to lawmakers essentially taking the year off for fears of COVID-19 infections.
The small business community criticized Illinois’ minimum wage rate legislation that changed the rate to $10 an hour in July while many employers had no income due to pandemic-induced closure orders. The rate increased to $11 an hour in January and will increase yearly to $15 an hour in 2025.
Calls for Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the legislature to put a hold on the rate went unheard.
The bill has yet to be assigned to a committee for consideration.
Reporting by Cole Lauterbach
The Center Square -- formerly known as Watchdog.org and the Illinois News Network -- and their reporters represent 18 states across the United States as the taxpayers' watchdog, exposing the way government really works.
Some rights reserved 2017-2023 by Heartland Newsfeed, a subsidiary partnership by Heartland Internet Media Networks and Heartland Media Group of Central Illinois LLC. Content published by Heartland Newsfeed staff is covered by the BipCot NoGov license. This allows use and re-use by anyone except governments and government agents. License on record. JNews theme designed and developed by Jegtheme.
