Washington, DC — Today, Republican Members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation responded to letters they received last week from Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth concerning tax reform and the impact on middle-income families.
 
The following letter was sent by U.S. Reps. John Shimkus (IL-15), Peter Roskam (IL-06), Randy Hultgren (IL-14), Adam Kinzinger (IL-16), Rodney Davis (IL-13), Mike Bost (IL-12), and Darin LaHood (IL-18):
 
Dear Senators Durbin and Duckworth,
 
We are writing to address your recent letter to Republican members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation. The massive 32 percent state income tax hike that was forced onto families earlier this year by Democrats in the Illinois General Assembly hurt the residents in our districts and across the state deeply. We have seen the negative impact these high taxes have had on our state’s economy and Illinois families. Now, we are coming together at the federal level to create a more competitive tax code and give middle-income families the tax relief they deserve. 
 
The nonpartisan Tax Foundation projects that under H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Illinois will see an estimated 37,010 jobs added and an after-tax income gain of $2,333 for middle-income families as a result of this legislation. The Chief of Staff for the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation recently testified before the Ways and Means Committee that on average at every income level there will be a tax cut.
 
In your letter, you list deductions for medical expenses and state and local income and property taxes – as you are aware, the majority of middle-income taxpayers in Illinois see no benefit from these deductions, which are only available to those who itemize. However, lowering rates and doubling the standard deduction allows individuals to save a greater amount than they currently do even with the student loan deduction.
 
From businesses on Main Street to middle-income families across our great state, everyone deserves a tax code that rewards hard work by allowing them to keep more money in their paychecks. We urge you to reject the status quo and do what’s right for hardworking taxpayers in Illinois.
 
We encourage you to work with your colleagues to address any concerns you may have as they craft the Senate bill and we hope you will support these efforts to reform our tax code. Middle-income families deserve to keep more of what they earn and we are committed to lowering taxes for these families. By lowering rates, doubling the standard deduction, and increasing and expanding the child tax credit, the data clearly shows the majority of middle-income families in Illinois will receive a tax cut under H.R. 1.
 
We hope you will work with us to put an end to a tax system that benefits the wealthy over the middle-class. We look forward to working with you to get a bipartisan tax reform bill to President Trump’s desk.
 
Sincerely,

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