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The
report was done by the Tax Foundation and listed the 50 states
from cheapest to most expensive state taxes on beer.
Illinois finished 28th on the list with a sales tax of $0.23 per
gallon.
Other than Kentucky, Illinois has a higher tax than neighboring
states, with Indiana at $0.12, Michigan at $0.20, and Wisconsin
with the nation's second lowest tax at just $0.06. The Land of
Lincoln has the third highest tax in the Midwest. Nearby
Tennessee has the highest in the nation at $1.29 per gallon.
Ray Stout of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild explained to WGN
earlier this summer before Craft Beer Week how big the beer
market is in Illinois.
"The craft beer in the state is pretty sizable," Stout said.
"There are about 300 breweries across the state of Illinois, and
it contributes about $3.3 billion to the economy."
Earlier this year, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and the state legislature
paused the state's grocery tax as 40-year-high inflation led to
soaring cost of just about everything. The grocery tax does not
include beer or liquor sales.
Stout said that the beer industry in Illinois is still working
its way back post-pandemic.
"The past two years have been very, very hard and the industry
is very much in a state of recovery," Stout said. "But I can't
think of another industry that rallies around each other during
times of trouble or times of heartache like the craft beer
industry."
Andrew Hensel has years of experience as a reporter
and pre-game host for the Joliet Slammers, and as a producer for the
Windy City Bulls. A graduate of Iowa Wesleyan University and
Illinois Media School, Andrew lives in the south suburbs of Chicago.
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