Report: U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth Has Paid No Property Taxes on Her Illinois Home for Six Years

[Franklin Pierce]

According to a report, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth hasn’t paid any property taxes on her Illinois home since 2015.

Duckworth’s tax evasion, though, is legal, Fox News reported. The senator has apparently found a number of loopholes and tax exemptions that lowered her rate effectively to zero in property taxes.

One of the tax breaks the 53-year-old Duckworth employs concerns disabled veterans. Unlike other states, the Illinois rules are not income-based. Any disabled veteran qualifies for the tax break, no matter how wealthy they are. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that critics of the many exemptions say that the rules are applied too liberally. They add that too many people whose incomes do not justify tax breaks are still getting them.

Due to the veteran exemption and others, since 2015 Duckworth and her husband have escaped having to pay $42,000 in Cook County property taxes. Their house is valued at $225,000, the paper added, and the senator alone earned nearly $500,000 in each of 2019 and 2020.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth Has Paid No Ill. Property Taxes Since 2015

 

[volinbham]

our regular left posters would label this tax evasion (though it isn't) if it were not a D politico.

hard to imagine she lives in Cook Co in a house that is worth 225K - I'm guessing that's the assessed value for tax purposes and in no way indicates market value.

if she qualifies for the loopholes then more power to her for using them. I just don't want to hear her complain about rich people using tax loopholes.

 

[NorthDallas40]

She’s a vet with disability status. She gets monster tax breaks in nearly every county in the country. This isn’t the screech point people need to be making.

 

[hUTch2002]

our regular left posters would label this tax evasion (though it isn't) if it were not a D politico.

hard to imagine she lives in Cook Co in a house that is worth 225K - I'm guessing that's the assessed value for tax purposes and in no way indicates market value.

if she qualifies for the loopholes then more power to her for using them. I just don't want to hear her complain about rich people using tax loopholes.

Tax deference.

 

[volfanhill]

Good job by her. Don't understand the problem.

 

[NorthDallas40]

Good job by her. Don't understand the problem.

I do agree with bham that she doesn’t need to be the poster child for screaming about tax loopholes. Hey she gets big time tax breaks and she earned them. A double amputee combat vet. But don’t be screaming about others using them. Granted that isn’t what’s happening here, I think anyway. I’ve not heard her specifically beating the tax loophole drum. If she does she’s a hypocrite I think.