SE Illinois News

Illinois State Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Metropolis) recently argued that recent gas tax relief legislation is only temporary and spoke in favor of permanently eliminating sales tax on gasoline in the state.

Senate Bill 157 creates several tax incentives for taxpayers in the state and gives them a little relief after the high inflation the country is currently experiencing. According to the text of the bill, SB 157 "suspends the rate adjustment calculated based on the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index until Jan. 1, 2023 (currently, the adjustment occurs on July 1, 2022)." 

SB 157 advanced in both the Senate and the House unanimously. It advanced in the House on April 9.

Windhorst made his comments during an April 9 House session.

"This bill has a gas tax freeze that is not really gas tax relief," Windhorst said. "The gas tax and the sales tax on gas disproportionately hurts the poor and middle class. And it disproportionately hurts those who live in rural areas. Those who live in rural areas drive 20, 25, 30 miles a day to go to work, to go to the doctor, to go to the hospital. They have no other option but to drive. When people in rural areas have to go somewhere, we have to drive. And because of Illinois's oppressive tax structure, we have to pay and pay a lot – sometimes up to $0.70 a gallon more than our surrounding states. What we need is real gas tax relief. If we really want to help, we should limit, suspend or completely eliminate the sales tax on our gasoline."

SB 157 also creates the Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity (MICRO) Act, which was a big selling point for Republican legislators. MICRO will create tax incentives for manufacturers of semiconductors, microchips or semiconductor or microchip component parts.