The Williamson County village of Energy was just one of the nearly two dozen local governments that raised taxes for residents beginning with the new year, the Illinois Policy Institute reports.
While most of the sales tax increases went into effect in business districts, some applied to entire municipalities. Energy limited its increase to the business district, but was still among those local governments that raised taxes the most.
The sales tax rate increase was published by the Illinois Department of Revenue and lists all of the increases throughout the state. Prior to Jan. 1, Energy, located in Williamson County, had an effective tax rate of 7.25 percent. The new rate is is now 8.25 percent thanks to a 1 percent increase enacted by the village. The Department of Revenue clarified that the sales tax does not apply to certain food, drug or medical appliance sale.
The Illinois Policy Institute charges that these latest tax increases create an unreasonably high burden for the state’s working class families. Residents of Illinois pay some of the highest property tax rates in the nation, and Chicago has the highest sales tax rate in the country. All tax burdens combined, Illinois residents suffer under the fifth-highest tax burden in the nation.
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