Millionaire Monday: James A. DeLeo

By on September 27, 2021   /   Blog  

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 James A. DeLeo is the very model of a modern IL. politician. He was a former Democratic member of the Illinois House of Representatives, and the Illinois Senate. He was also an Assistant Majority Leader for a period.  

During his time in Illinois politics, DeLeo, like so many other politicians was hostile to taxpayers. Take for example his performance in the 93rd Illinois General Assembly. He voted in favor of SB1725, a new death tax that at the time was estimated to cost taxpayers $200 million in 2004, and $500 million every year after. He voted in favor of SB842, a $59 million heavy machinery tax that targeted Illinois manufacturers, including of all things graphic design companies. He also voted in favor of SB83, a bill that allowed park districts to raise property taxes $10.5 million a year without referendum. When then Governor Blagojevich vetoed the bill, DeLeo voted in favor of the veto override.

DeLeo also had his share of controversies, which is the norm by Illinois standards. DeLeo was indicted by a federal grand jury in the “Operation Greylord” investigation of corruption in Cook County for taking bribes. Though nothing was found regarding bribes, in 1990 he was sentenced to one year of unsupervised probation for claiming $1,700 in deductions he was not entitled to on his 1982 tax return.

Also like so many others, DeLeo is also a pension millionaire. DeLeo receives from his General Assembly Retirement System (GARS) pension an estimated $116,241 a year, with the majority of the money sourced from state taxpayers. DeLeo put $169,550 into his pension, and since his retirement from politics has been given an estimated $1,034,749. By the time he reaches 85, DeLeo is estimated to receive $3,377,802 from his pension.

There are plenty of pension millionaires, and we at Taxpayers United of America are going to put a spotlight on all of them! If taxpayers would like to view the latest annual report on Illinois pensions, there is a link to it on our website: 15th Annual Illinois Pension Report – Taxpayers United Of America

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BIDEN ENERGY POLICIES ARE COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE AND DESTRUCTIVE

By on September 23, 2021   /   Latest  

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By: Val Wallace Zimnicki

The energy policies of the Biden administration are counter-productive and are harming the U.S.

The U.S. became energy independent a couple of years prior to President Biden’s executive orders. Biden stopped oil and gas leases on federal lands and then stopped construction on the Keystone pipeline. Simultaneously, he approved Russia’s Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, which will supply that country as well as other European countries with oil, thus weakening U.S. oil exports. This puzzling action makes no economic sense. It’s a double-hit on U.S. oil exports and U.S. oil independence.  As a result, the U.S. is a net oil importer once again.

During the Trump administration, domestic oil production rose 44 percent, and we were a oil exporter for the first time in almost 60 years. This has changed. Due to Biden’s executive orders, we are now asking OPEC to pump more oil to meet our needs, and, of course, this comes at a cost. Gas and oil prices are now at highest levels in 7 years, since October 2014.

Americans are paying much more at the pump, and this hurts not only the middle class but the poor. Last year the national average for regular grade oil was $2.38 a gallon; today it’s almost a dollar more.

As usual, the costs are higher in Illinois and other blue states. Economists see oil and gas prices continuing to trend in an upward direction.

Transportation costs are not the only ones directly affected by the administration’s economic policies. Oil and natural gas are needed for products like tires, medical equipment, phones, shampoos, dresses, deodorants, sweaters, and about 6,000 other commodities. Watch for more inflation affecting many everyday products dependent on oil. Of course, politicians love higher-priced merchandise. Higher prices create higher taxes!

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CONTRARY TO WASHINGTION TAX-RAISERS, THE U.S. TAX CODE IS DEFINITELY PROGRESSIVE

By on September 21, 2021   /   Latest  

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A new report by the nonpartisan Washington-based Tax foundation disproves the charge by Washington Democrats that that wealthy Americans pay little taxes.

“As Congress considers several tax proposals designed to raise taxes on high-income earners, it’s worth considering the distribution of the existing tax code. While the image that rich Americans pay little taxes is popular, it’s a misconception: high-income individuals already pay a large share of taxes, even when compared to their share of national income,” reports the foundation’s Alex Muresianu.

The data and analysis from the preeminent nonpartisan governmental research organizations confirms this pattern.

Also, Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its annual Distribution of Household Income report, this year relying on data from 2018. The data show that top-earning households pay substantial federal taxes. While the top 1 percent of earners took home 18.3 percent of market income in 2018, they paid 25.9 percent of all federal taxes; by the same token, the top 20 percent of earners received 59.1 percent of market income yet paid 68.9 percent of federal taxes.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the top 1 percent under current law will pay the highest average effective tax rate, when considering all federal taxes. This difference is largely due to the significant progressivity of the individual income tax: the bottom 40 percent of taxpayers on average pay negative effective personal income tax.

The foundation concludes, “Of course, some people will argue that even if the tax code is currently progressive, it should be even more progressive. But they should not dispute the fact that the wealthy pay a larger share of federal taxes than they earn of national income.”

Source: https://taxfoundation.org/us-tax-system-progressive/

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