Chambana Sun

In a June 26 Facebook post, Rep. Chris Miller (R-Robinson) shared information on the Illinois Franchise Tax.

“What is the Franchise Tax, and how does it impact small businesses in Illinois?” he wrote on Facebook. “Get caught up on how Illinois Democrats have broken promises to re-implement a tax that negatively impacts small businesses around the state.”

Small Business Majority noted there are approximately 1.2 million small businesses in Illinois.

In his Facebook post, Miller shared a link to a blog post from the Illinois House Republican Caucus. The post explains that the franchise tax is “actually three separate taxes, all based on paid-in capital," which is what investors pay for the stock they own. According to the caucus blog post, the franchise tax is considered “archaic” and that less than two dozen states have a franchise tax. The tax was enacted in Illinois in 1872.

In 2019, the Illinois General Assembly adopted what would become Illinois Public Act 101-00089 which would have phased out the franchise tax by January 2024. A document from Deloitte, explained how franchise taxpayers would be exempted on a portion of what they owed in successive tax years. The bill also created a franchise tax amnesty period for unpaid tax or license fees from March 15, 2008, to June 30, 2019.

In March 2021, the Taxpayers Federation of Illinois published a blog post that called the franchise tax “still a bad idea.” In the post, writer Carol Portman explained how the tax worked, and what happens in other states before diving into opinion on the franchise tax itself. The blog post notes that Illinois is an outlier because six states have something similar to Illinois’ franchise tax, but they base the tax on total assets, not paid-in capital.

In a June 23 news release related to the state’s economy, Miller quoted a Wirepoints article and shared his reaction. He wrote: “Illinois lost a net 208 single-establishment firms to out-migration in 2021, the 3rd-worst loss behind only New York (-487) and California (-456). We need to pass and implement pro-growth, pro-business legislation to encourage people to start businesses in Illinois and incentivize businesses to relocate and stay in Illinois.”

Miller was first elected to represent the 101st District in 2018. A lifelong Illinois resident, he is the husband of U.S. House Rep. Mary Miller. He is a third generation cattle farmer and grain operator, according to his official biography.