Businessman Willie Wilson forms PAC, criticizes Gov. J.B. Pritzker's graduated income tax proposal

Chicago businessman and former mayoral candidate Willie Wilson has formed a political action committee, and he’s taking aim at Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s graduated income tax proposal.

While he could end up paying significantly more in income taxes if Illinois voters next year approve a constitutional amendment needed to enact Pritzker’s tax plan, Wilson said he’s against it because it would hurt poor and middle-class Illinois residents by pushing wealthier people to move out.

“How are you going to protect them when you’re running the businesses out of state, that the middle class works in these particular businesses?” Wilson asked during a Friday news conference outside the Thompson Center. “How are you going to protect that? You’re going to lose jobs and things of that nature.”

People with incomes above $250,000 would see their income tax rates rise under the Pritzker plan, which would scrap the state’s currently mandated flat-rate income tax. But Wilson, who’s known for handing out cash to help people pay their property tax bills, said that’s not a concern to him.

Read more: https://www.chicagotribune.com/politics/ct-met-willie-wilson-pac-pritzker-tax-plan-20190607-story.html