The Pulse

As the campaign season gets into full swing, the sound bites of political advertising will likely proclaim: "Taxpayers Are Mad as Hell and Won't Pay Any More!" or "Read My Lips (Again)" or "No New Taxes!"

Sound bites that try to reflect isolated aspects of public opinion grab attention at the cost of accuracy. Let's look at what Illinois citizens really think about taxes.

Yes, Illinoisans think that a lot of their taxes are too high, and they think there is a great deal of government waste. They also want the state to spend more money — more on low-income families, more for medical care, more for job training and especially more on education (see figure 1). These opinions come from the Illinois Policy Survey, which has kept track of citizen opinions on state taxes and other issues since 1984.

Are Illinoisans being inconsistent, wishful, foolish? No, citizen opinion is not so much inconsistent as it is more complicated than can be captured in a simplistic phrase or two.

In Illinois, the most misleading catch phrase is "Tax Revolt." Illinoisans do not like to pay taxes, but they have different opinions on the three major taxes they pay in Illinois: state income tax, state and local sales taxes and local property taxes. They are both observant and discerning about these three taxes. Not all taxes are judged too high, some are thought less fair than others, and different reasons are given for these varying opinions.

In the 1991 poll, the property tax was the most deplored among the three taxes. Sixty-three percent thought their property taxes were too high, and only 32 percent thought they were "about right" (see figure 2). Opinion has not changed much in seven years: In the 1984 poll, 64 percent said the property tax was too high.

The state income tax is the best accepted of the three taxes, with only 32 percent in the 1991 poll indicating that it is too high and 58 percent saying it is about right. Interestingly, 7 percent think it is too low. That's not many, but almost no one thinks the other two taxes are low.

Opinion on the sales tax is almost even-

Figure 1. Support for State spending increases in Illinois: 1991	Figure 2. Evaluation of three Taxes in Illinois as too High or About Right

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Figure 3. Most and Least Fair Taxes in Illinois

ly split, with 50 percent saying it is too high and 48 percent indicating it is about right.

When asked which of the three major taxes is the least fair, 58 percent named the property tax, up 11 percentage points since 1984 (see figure 3). Only 12 percent indicated that the property tax is the most fair, down a third from 18 percent in 1984.

Illinoisans are divided on the fairness of the sales and state income taxes. Twenty percent say the income tax is least fair, and 42 percent say it is the most fair. Eighteen percent think the sales tax is least fair, and 39 percent say it is the most fair. These percentages are little changed from 1984.

The reasons cited most frequently for the unfaimess of the property tax are its high rates (34 percent), followed by assessment problems (28 percent). Twelve percent believe the property tax is unfair because it does not apply to everyone. Still another 12 percent say it is unfair because it is not necessarily based on ability to pay (problems for the elderly were especially mentioned).

The sales tax is believed most fair (1) because everyone has to pay it (31 percent), (2) because of its low rate (26 percent) and (3) because individuals have some control over paying it (15 percent). What escapes most taxpayers is that the sales tax is highly regressive with respect to income — that is, the lower the income of an individual, the higher the percentage of that income that goes to pay the sales tax. Even lower income individuals tend not to evaluate this tax in terms of its negative relative effect on themselves.

Almost equal numbers view the income tax as the most fair tax for opposite reasons: 21 percent because everyone pays the same rate, and 19 percent because people with higher incomes pay more.

These opposing reasons may require greater education by our leaders on our tax structure. The state income tax is mildly progressive at best, and then only because it is based on federal taxable income. Personal exemptions and the standard deduction give relative advantage to lower income individuals, resulting in an increasing tax rate as income increases. The flat rates imposed on incomes by Illinois, however, reduce this effect.

Public officials might perform more vigorously their own role in educating the public about taxing and spending decisions. When implications of tax choices are clearly put before citizens, they can make sound civic decisions. For example, in both 1989 and 1990, about three-fourths of the respondents to the Illinois Policy Survey said they would support a permanent increase in the state income tax, with over half of these tax supporters imposing the qualification that the money go for education. In the 1991 poll, 51 percent of the supporters of a cap on property taxes said they would oppose a cap if it hurt the ability of schools to raise funds.

Illinois taxpayers are neither fools nor mean-spirited citizens. They want to know and have some say in where their money is going, and they are looking for leadership in resolving tax and spending issues. They will learn nothing from a candidate's sound bite proclaiming that taxes are high.

Ellen M. Dran is a research associate in the Center for Governmental Studies at Northern Illinois University, which has conducted the Illinois Policy Survey annually since 1984.

February 1992/Illinois lssues/35