“Let’s call this proposal what it is, the Brandon Johnson bailout for Chicago mass transit,” said Rep. Spain. “At a time when high prices are still hurting family budgets and stifling small businesses, the last thing Illinoisans need is a new tax on the basic services we all rely on. Even worse, if this new tax is adopted at 6.25%, it would be the highest service tax in the country. Illinoisans are already taxed to the max. Families, seniors and small businesses can’t afford another tax. It will only force more people to leave our state.”
As Spain noted, the 6.25% proposal being floated in Springfield would be the highest tax of its kind in any state in the nation. Depending on the analysis, Illinois already consistently ranks as having one of the highest overall tax burdens of any state in the country.
“Illinois families cannot afford and should not have to pay service taxes on top of the enormous tax burden they already pay,” said Rep. Sosnowski. “Illinois has a priority and spending problem, not a revenue problem. Spending is out of control in the State of Illinois. Under the six years that JB Pritzker has been Governor, the state budget has exploded from just over $39 billion in his first year in office to more than $53 billion this year. The spending priorities of this Governor and the supermajority in the Illinois House are out-of-step with the needs and concerns of Illinois families.”
The lawmakers also noted that over 73% of the Illinois economy is service-producing industries, and most are not currently set up to pay sales tax. Rushed implementation under this proposal will lead to many businesses choosing not to operate in Illinois.
Dean Graven, Owner and Operator of Dean’s Landscaping and Handyman Services, and a former President of the Springfield Home Builders Association and past board member of the Home Builders Association of Illinois, said the tax would have a major impact on housing costs.
“A new service tax will have a terrible impact on housing affordability in Illinois and will serve to stifle new construction rates,” said Graven. “Home builders rely on contractors and subcontractors providing services. Think of all the services that go into building a home - carpenters, electricians, plumbers, HVAC, roofers - under a new service tax, all of these additional taxes will be passed along to consumers. Let’s be clear, a tax hike on services is a tax hike on all Illinois families.”
More than eighty services appear in the new tax proposal, including car washes, streaming services, landscaping, home repair/handyman services, employment staffing agencies, camping, dry cleaning, carpet cleaning, fitness centers, pest control, dog grooming, retirement/investment advising, moving services, and many more.
Kayla Edwards of Express Employment Professionals noted that Illinois is one of the largest users of temporary employment services in the country and this new tax could cripple the industry.
“Every year, thousands of businesses and tens of thousands of people across Illinois rely on the services provided by temporary staffing firms like mine to connect people to jobs and employers to their workforce,” said Edwards. “The employees we service pay nothing for our services, and because we operate on such thin margins, adding a new tax on top of the various regulatory burdens that already exist in Illinois will literally cripple the Illinois staffing agency industry. This tax will dramatically raise the cost of doing business, force employers to close or leave Illinois, and cost jobs across industries. Please reject this service tax.”
For a complete list of the services included in the tax proposal and to express your opposition to this major tax expansion, go to StopILServiceTax.com.
Watch the press conference: