WILL COUNTY BOARD TO VOTE ON 4-CENT COUNTYWIDE GAS TAX FOLLOWING DOUBLED ILLINOIS TAX Email Your opinion to countyboard@willcountyillinois.com and ask that your email is sent to all Board Members. You can also come to 302 N. Chicago in Joliet at 9:30 and give your opinion 9:30 am December 19th.
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Will County Republican Caucus oppose county gas tax
Democrats have the majority control so we need to convince them not to do this unnecessary tax.
JOLIET, Ill. – Sept. 4, 2019 – Will County residents could be facing a 4 to 8-cent per gallon gas tax increase at the pump if the Will County Democratic Caucus votes in favor of the tax. The Will County Republican Caucus has come out in opposition.
“Illinois residents are taxed enough already and now the Democrats want to increase the taxes on Will County residents,” said Ray Tuminello (R-New Lenox). “With the current and new state taxes and fees, it is time to give people a break.”
Will County, along with other collar counties, received authorization to levy a motor fuel tax of up to 8 cents per gallon as part of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s $45 billion capital plan. This year’s capital plan already doubled the state’s gas tax to 38 cents from 19 cents per gallon.
The county gas tax would be on top of the state and municipal gas taxes drivers already pay.
This year, as a result of the new 19-cent per gallon gas tax and infrastructure bond issue, the County will receive over $10 million additional dollars in addition to the $9 million the County already receives. The County also receives $20 million from the Regional Transportation Authority tax to be used on roads. Yet the Democrats want to institute an additional 4-cents per gallon tax to generate another $12 million in County gas tax funds.
“If the other side of the aisle wants to put a gas tax in, it is time to ask residents who weren’t given a voice on the state gas tax to weigh in,” said Will County Board Member Mike Fricilone (R-Homer Glen). “We should ask the residents how they want to spend their money and let them decide.”
Fricilone suggested putting an advisory referendum question on the ballot regarding the County gas tax.
The Caucus noted that a gas tax, along with taxes on license plates, video gaming, cigarettes, liquor and parking, are regressive taxes that impact lower income residents and seniors who are on a fixed income.
“There is no need to keep burdening voters with these taxes,” Fricilone said.
The gas tax was be voted on by the full Will County Board on December. 19. Democrats do have the majority of the votes and can pass it without Republicans.
Voice Your Opinion with a email: Countyboard@willcountyillinois.com and ask that your email be sent to all Board Members. The vote will take place December 19th. You can sign in to speak before the meeting which starts at 9:30am
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Vincent Caruso Illinois Policy
/ BUDGET + TAX DECEMBER 10, 2019
Will County board to vote on 4-cent countywide gas tax following doubled Illinois tax
Included in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s capital plan is increased taxing power for some county governments to create or raise countywide gas taxes. Will County could be the first to exercise that authority.
Drivers filling up in Will County could soon lose a small advantage over most of their collar county peers.
On Dec. 5, a proposal to create a 4-cent countywide gas tax passed the Will County Board Public Works and Transportation Committee, sending it to the full county board for a final vote, according to the Herald-News.
The committee passed the tax proposal along party lines, with four Democrats voting in favor of the tax and three Republicans voting against it. The county board vote is Dec. 19.
Will County Director of Transportation Jeff Ronaldson proposed the gas tax in August, estimating a 4-cent tax would generate an extra $12 million annually.
Republicans on the board said the county already will receive an extra $6.2 million from the doubled state gas tax, as well as $23 million in state money for road projects during the next six years. Will County receives $9.2 million from motor fuel taxes at present.
Democrats said the money is needed for infrastructure that will boost economic development and help the county grow.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s $45 billion capital plan, which doubled the state’s gas tax to 38 cents from 19 cents per gallon, brought Illinois’ total gas tax burden to third- from 10th-highest in the nation. According to an Illinois Policy Institute analysis, drivers on average will pay an extra $100 per year for the state gas tax hike. Collectively drivers will pay $1.2 billion a year.
Pritzker’s plan also granted Chicago and the collar counties more authority to tax gasoline, allowing for a motor fuel tax of up to 8 cents per gallon. Currently, only DuPage, Kane and McHenry counties impose a countywide gas tax at 4 cents per gallon. Under the new law, those counties could double their gas tax levies. Will and Lake may enact new ones up to 8 cents per gallon, but Will’s proposal is for half that amount.
If board members approve the tax, Will County would be the first of the counties to take advantage of its new taxing authority.
The county’s proposed gas tax hike would come atop the layers of taxes drivers already pay on gasoline at the state and local levels. In addition to federal, state and local excise taxes on motor fuel, Illinois is one of only a handful of states that applies state and local sales taxes to gas.
Because nearly two-thirds of Illinois’ population resides in the collar counties, additional gas tax hikes by county governments could push Illinois’ overall average gas tax burden above No. 3.
Will County has been shifting from Republican to Democrat in recent years, and Democrats now hold the majority on the county board. If the board vote Dec. 19 remains along party lines like the committee vote, drivers could see extra pain at the county’s pumps soon.
