Caterpillar Thinks About Leaving Illinois Due to Income Tax Hike

Who says raising the income tax equals more revenue?

Catepillar is contempalting leaving Illinois due to the recent increase in income tax. As reported at Pantagraph, Catepillar is being courted by at least 4 states for relocation. Illinois is just too expensive to conduct business in these days. States like Texas, South Dakota and Nebraska are actively eying Caterpillar.

The chairman and CEO of Peoria-based Caterpillar Inc. is raising the specter of moving the heavy equipment maker out of Illinois.

In a letter sent March 21 to Gov. Pat Quinn, Caterpillar chief executive officer Doug Oberhelman said officials in at least four other states have approached the company about relocating since Illinois raised its income tax in January.

“I want to stay here. But as the leader of this business, I have to do what’s right for Caterpillar when making decisions about where to invest,” Oberhelman wrote in the letter obtained Friday by the Lee Enterprises Springfield bureau. “The direction that this state is headed in is not favorable to business and I’d like to work with you to change that.”

Not only did they have to deal with this Democrat tax increase, CAT also has to absorb the effects of Obamacare and the $100 million it would cost them in one quarter.