News
Illinois agriculture keeping a close eye on broader state issues
Broader issues impacting the state of Illinois have sparked concerning voices from the agriculture industry.
Jeff Adkisson, Executive Vice President for the Grain and Feed Association of Illinois tells Brownfield a bill in the General Assembly to create a financial transaction tax could have a significant impact on producers and elevators.
“Basically, it would put a tax on transactions through the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) platform on the Board of Trade as well as other financial transactions.”
Champaign County farmer Dirk Rice says the poor financial situation of the state has contributed to an increase in people moving out of Illinois.
“For farmers, picking up and moving your business isn’t very practical- it just doesn’t work that way. Once you get established you are committed so you either pick up and find a new occupation or we are just going to have to ride this out.”
Rice says there is a huge unfunded pension liability for state employees that could result in higher taxes for citizens who are already paying some of the highest state taxes in the nation.
