Pritzker signs tax incentives for electric vehicle manufacturers after calling similar measure ‘loopholes’

[November 17, 2021]  By Greg Bishop

(The Center Square) – After earlier in the year pushing to close a variety of business tax incentives he labeled “corporate loopholes,” Gov. J.B. Pritzker has enacted incentives for electric vehicle manufacturers.

Pritzker signed House Bill 1796 Tuesday to create the Reimagining Electric Vehicles in Illinois, or REV Act.

“With this bill we intend to attract more EV manufacturers, charging station manufacturers and automotive parts manufacturers more than ever before,” Pritzker said. “It will help Illinois become one of the leading EV hubs in the entire nation.”

Pritzker said accelerating the pace of electric vehicle manufacturing in Illinois covers two prongs.

“Not only can we lead in the fight against climate change, we can also create thousands of jobs for hard-working Illinoisans in the process,” Pritzker said.

Though he voted for the measure, Republican state Rep. Tom Demmer said the governor has flip-flopped on how to address the state’s unfriendly business climate through incentives.

“How can I tell the businesses who are looking at this incentive here tonight that it won’t be reversed in next year’s budget or the budget after that if the governor suddenly decides that instead it’s a corporate loophole instead of an incentive to attract businesses,” Demmer said on the House floor last month. “He’s done it before. Will he do it again?”

Gov. J.B. Pritzker Tuesday signing House Bill 1769. On the House floor Oct. 28, state Rep. Tom Demmer, R-Dixon, and state Rep. Michael Halpin, D-Rock Island, discuss the measure. 

• GovPritzker Facebook, BlueRoomStream

Before state government got more than $8 billion in federal tax funds for COVID-19 relief, Pritzker in February outlined up to $1 billion in tax increases he said would come about by ending “corporate loopholes."

The enacted budget that began July 1 included more than $660 million in decreased incentives that Republicans said means increased taxes on businesses.

The REV Act Pritzker enacted Tuesday includes tax credits for income tax withholding, training costs, and investments by EV manufacturers.

During debate on the bill last month, state Rep. Michael Halpin, D-Rock Island, said the measure also allows local jurisdictions to abate property taxes for those in the EV industry, and that could have consequences.

“Who pays that? It’s the rest of the taxpayers, the rest of the businesses who don’t get these incentives,” Halpin said. “The rest of the residents who don’t get incentives to stay there.”

The REV Act is effective immediately.