Quinn calls for new credit, ending utility tax
By the Associated Press
Newsroom | Consumer News | Quinn calls for new credit, ending utility tax
Read the entire article, Quinn calls for new credit, ending utility tax, and listen to Gov. Quinn's speech on the WJBC Web site.
SPRINGFIELD, Wednesday, February 1, 2012 — Gov. Pat Quinn used his State of the State speech Wednesday to call for ending an Illinois tax on natural gas, creating a new tax credit for parents, and offering more incentive for companies to hire veterans.

The new tax credit for parents with children will save $100 a year for the average family of four, or $50 per child. Quinn said. That equals about $130 million in lost revenue for the state.

Read the full text of Quinn's State of the State speech.

Quinn said ending the natural gas utility tax will help businesses and families alike. State officials say the natural gas utility tax brings in about $160 million each year. According to the Citizens' Utility Board, the utility tax costs the typical Illinois household around $32 yearly.

Read CUB's fact sheet, Making Sense of Your Gas Bill, to learn more about the tax and all the charges on your gas bill.
Quinn said Illinois would be the only state in the Midwest without that tax, giving businesses an advantage.

"This tax is an unfair, regressive tax that is not based on the ability to pay," he said. "Regardless of income or whether or not you're making a profit, you pay this tax. By abolishing it entirely, we can provide targeted tax relief to both consumers and businesses."

The Democratic governor also said Illinois should expand an existing tax credit for companies that hire unemployed veterans. He said it would provide "significant tax credit for every unemployed veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan that a company hires."

The unemployment rate for young returning veterans is 30 percent nationally, Quinn said.

"That's shameful," he said. "Our military men and women are heroes who have served our country and they deserve our everlasting gratitude."

The proposal could cost the state up to about $10 million.

Quinn also called on lawmakers to boost support for Monetary Award Program, or MAP, scholarships. Nearly 150,000 Illinois students received state MAP scholarships last year to attend college, Quinn said, but just as many qualified applicants were denied because of lack of funding.

"We cannot leave our high school graduates unprepared to compete for the jobs of the future," he said.

Listen to Quinn's speech.