 An amendment to a bill currently sitting in the Illinois Senate would add
another tax: this time, on home repairs. The legislation, Senate Bill 9, was one
of the revenue-grabbing components of the so-called “grand bargain” budget
proposal. The amendments to SB 9 contain a large package of new taxes and tax
hikes, including taxes on internet streaming services such as Netflix, laundry
services, landscaping, manicures and a host of other services and products.
Sponsored by state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, SB 9 and its
subsequent amendments have gained considerable support among the Senate
leadership of both parties, but have not yet gained enough support from
rank-and-file senators.
Industry experts have voiced concern over the proposal, citing it as convoluted,
hard to enforce and overly expensive. The Home Builders Association of Illinois
opposes Hutchinson’s proposed tax and claims that it would cost 521 jobs, $47
million in reduced home repair and maintenance work, and a nearly $8 million
reduction in revenue for state and local coffers.
Home Builders Association Vice President Bill Ward claimed the bill would hurt
senior citizens and lower income residents.
“Senior citizens and other homeowners on limited income will be forced to forego
needed repair work on their homes,” Ward said.
“Homes hit by fire and storm damage will be the hardest hit by this tax,” Ward
said, according to The State Journal-Register. “On $20,000 damage to a home, the
tax will amount to $1,250 in home repair work.”
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Hutchinson’s proposed tax on home repairs would be yet another
cost for Illinois’ middle class. Illinois homeowners already pay
some of the highest property taxes in the country and carry one of
the most expensive overall tax burdens in the nation.
The last thing homeowners need is a new tax on a basic service.
And like property taxes, a tax on home repairs would also hurt
senior citizens in Illinois, many of whom live on a fixed income.
The proposed home repair tax would also serve as yet another
disincentive for buying a home in Illinois. The Land of Lincoln is
undergoing a severe out-migration crisis, especially among prime
working-age residents. From July 2015 to July 2016, Illinois’
population contracted by 37,500 residents due to out-migration,
giving the Prairie State the worst population loss in the country.
High taxes around home ownership such as property taxes and
Hutchinson’s proposed home repair tax serve as further
discouragement for people seeking to put down roots in Illinois. A
poll released in October 2016 by the Paul Simon Public Policy
Institute showed that nearly half of Illinois residents wanted to
leave the state, and of those who wanted to leave, taxes were the
No. 1 reason.
Though currently shelved in the Senate Assignments Committee, SB 9’s
amendments, with its slew of new taxes and tax hikes, is by no means
off the table. Many in Springfield would like to see the tax-laden
proposal become law, eager for fresh revenue to feed the state’s
cost drivers. SB 9 and all its tax hikes should be thrown out for
good, and lawmakers should embrace taxpayer-friendly reforms that
will actually encourage people to live, work and retire in Illinois.
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