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Businesses Worried About Governor's Plan11 April 2003ILLINOIS – As reported by the Chicago Tribune: "The devil is in the details, and worried Illinois business leaders spent Thursday trying to assess how they will be affected by Gov. Rod Blagojevich's plans to boost fees and taxes by as much as $600 million annually. "The devil is in the details, and worried Illinois business leaders spent Thursday trying to assess how they will be affected by Gov. Rod Blagojevich's plans to boost fees and taxes by as much as $600 million annually. "`There's $350 million in new fees that we don't know anything about yet,' said Greg Baise, president of the Illinois Manufacturers Association. "…Some business leaders said they were pleased that the governor did not try to eliminate all tax breaks, such as not collecting sales tax on machinery needed by manufacturers, but others fretted that the new fees could cool business investment. "The new taxes and fees are intended to help offset what Blagojevich estimates is a $5 billion budget shortfall plaguing the state through the middle of 2004. Raising consumer fees or taxes is not an option, he has said. "…The Illinois Gaming Casino Association blasted Blagojevich's budget, which calls for increasing to 70 percent the tax on gross profits that the state's most-lucrative casinos will pay. The rate is currently 50 percent, up from 30 percent last year…" |