From the campaign of Collin Corbett:

Collin Corbett Calls JB Pritzker’s Sales Tax Holiday a “10-Day Band-Aid”

Palatine, IL — Today, JB Pritzker appeared in Palatine to announce the state’s 10-day “sales tax holiday” on select back-to-school items.

Ironically, he did so next to a Walmart filled with everyday items working families require that are still subject to the state’s high sales tax year-round, highlighting how regressive the state’s sales taxes are.

In response, Independent candidate for Governor Collin Corbett released the following statement:

“Illinois working families need real relief, not political theater. They don’t just feel the squeeze when buying notebooks and crayons the first week of August, they feel it every single day when paying among the highest sales taxes in the nation.

“Our state’s sales tax system is broken and fundamentally regressive. Lower- and middle-income families spend a far greater percentage of their hard-earned paychecks on basic necessities, while high-end services remain largely untouched.

“Giving families a temporary 5% break for ten days while maintaining an outdated system for the other 355 days is insulting to taxpayers.

“It’s time to stop governing through temporary gimmicks. Illinois needs a modernized sales tax structure that lowers baseline rates for working families, broadens our tax base to reflect a modern 21st-century economy, and provides real, permanent relief where taxpayers need it most.”

Key Facts on Illinois’ Regressive Sales Tax System:

• This sales tax holiday is not a full exemption. The 10 day sales tax holiday is merely a temporary 5% reduction in the state rate, meaning working families are still paying sales taxes on back-to-school supplies during the holiday. Also, the holiday omits many necessary educational items, such as instructional materials, art supplies, and computers.
• Everyday essentials are fully taxed year-round. This includes over-the-counter medicines and health items, medical appliances, diapers, personal hygiene products, and household cleaning supplies.
• Many Illinoisans are still paying sales taxes on groceries and baby formula. Because Pritzker did not hold municipalities harmless when “eliminating” the grocery tax, a majority of municipalities had to re-impose the tax at the local level. In addition, Illinoisans in the 6-county RTA region (Cook, DuPage, Lake, Kane, McHenry, and Will) pay an additional sales tax on food, drugs, and medical appliances, a tax which Pritzker just raised by .25% on August 1st.
• Illinoisans pay sales taxes on gas. Every time working families fill up at the pump, they pay a sales tax on top of the gas tax Pritzker has raised from 19 cents per gallon to 49.6 cents per gallon.
• Illinoisans pay among the highest sales taxes in the nation. Statewide, the combined state and local average is 8th-highest in the country. Chicago’s combined sales tax is one of the highest rates imposed by major US cities.
• Illinois’ sales tax system is highly regressive. Illinois sales tax code was written for a 1950’s manufacturing economy. By heavily taxing physical goods while exempting most high-end consumer services, the system shifts the tax burden onto lower- and middle-income households who spend the vast majority of their income on physical products.
• Independents Collin Corbett and Carolyn Schofield have called to modernize the Illinois sales tax. As Governor, Collin will champion an overhaul of Illinois’ sales tax system to help working families and grow the state’s economy. This includes broadening the base to include non-essential services, lowering the baseline sales tax rate to help working families, and eliminating the sales tax on everyday essentials like groceries, baby formula, diapers, medicine and medical supplies, and school supplies.