Tax Increase To Help Pay for New Infrastructure Plan
By Frank Toniny, July 1, 2019
J. B. Pritzker has not been Illinois’ governor for very long but he has been very eager to make Illinois prosperous again. Recently he passed legislation to legalize recreation marijuana starting in 2020. In February he signed a law to raise minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025. Now he is keeping his promise of raising taxes. As of July 1, 2019 taxes on gas and title fees, cigarettes, and gambling are being raised.
Gas taxes have doubled from 19 cents per gallon to 38 cents per gallon, unless you drive a vehicle that takes diesel then you will pay 45.5 cents per gallon in tax. The other increase in fees for vehicle owners are title fees presented in the chart below. Taxes on cigarettes went up to $2.98 per pack. E-cigarettes are no exception. Originally they had no added tax other than sales tax, but now there is a 15% tax on the entire sale price.
Source: Chicago Sun Times
The last big source of revenue for the state will be from a gambling increase. Pritzker signed a bill to expand the amount of gambling and types of gambling in the state. The new gambling bill will make Illinois the “gambling capitol” of the Midwest. It legalizes sports gambling, sanctions the addition of 6 more casinos, permits casino operations at horse racing tracks. The bill also increases maximum betting price and the number of video game gambling machines.
Pritzker’s motivation behind all of these changes is to help fund a capitol infrastructure plan projected to cost around $45 billion dollars. The plan is an attempt to rebuild Illinois. The money is going towards fixing roadways and bridges, new schools, government builds, environmental conservations, broadband deployment, healthcare services and better developing communities. The main goal of targeting these areas is to help rebuild the economy by creating a mass amount of job opportunities that Illinois has not seen in a long time.
Sources: “Illinois Is Poised to Become the Gambling Capital of the Midwest” ProPublica
“All bets are on — Pritzker signs $45B capital plan, massive gambling expansion” Chicago Sun Times
“Cigarette, gas taxes will increase July 1 with Pritzker signature” Peoria Journal Star