Jesse Jackson Comes Out Against a Tax Increase in Illinois

Crain's Chicago Business reports:

The Rev. Jesse Jackson Friday renewed his attack on Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s proposed $7.6 billion tax on corporate gross receipts and said the governor has agreed to consider changes in the plan.

But the governor’s office immediately shot down any hint of a compromise, promising only to “continue to listen to everyone’s ideas and concerns.”

Mr. Jackson’s comments came at a midday press conference at which the civil-rights leader charged that numerous emerging small businesses, many of them owned by African-Americans, would go bankrupt if lawmakers approve the governor’s proposal for a flat tax of 0.85% on manufacturers and 1.95% on service providers.

“With a flat tax, small business will be flattened,” Mr. Jackson declared to nods from about a dozen black business leaders who also attended the pres conferences. “What looks even is not even. The flat tax eliminates a significant body of small businesses.”

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