A change in the new income tax law which increases the Illinois income tax for taxpayers aged 65 or over has never, to my knowledge, been given any publicity.
In the Illinois return as many exemptions can be claimed, at $1,000 each, as are claimed in the U.S. return. The new U.S. tax law eliminated the additional exemption previously allowed for those 65 or over, but increased the amount of each exemption from $1,000 to $1,900 in 1987, $1,950 in 1988, and $2,000 in 1989. Thus, a person 65 or over can now claim only one exemption in the Illinois return instead of two as previously. Since the Illinois exemption is still $1,000, a married couple both 65 or over, with the same taxable income as in 1986, will automatically have an increase in their Illinois tax of $50.
The Illinois legislature should at once rectify this unwarranted and unjust increase in the income tax of older taxpayers.
