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A study by the Tax Foundation shows that Illinois has the second
highest gas taxes in the country, behind only California, the
only two states with gas taxes that top 60 cents per gallon. The
lowest gas tax in the continental U.S. is Mississippi at just 18
cents per gallon.
Illinoisans pay 66.5 cents in taxes per gallon. In neighboring
Missouri, the gas tax is less than a quarter, something that
Adam Hoffer, Tax Foundation director of Excise Tax Policy, said
on the group’s podcast that it is a fact not lost on Illinois
drivers.
“I think most people who drive know where they can find the
cheapest gasoline, and whether that is the cheapest within their
state or any other state that they may travel to in the near
area,” said Hoffer.
Neighboring Iowa's gas tax is 30 cents a gallon. Kentucky's is
30.1 cents. Wisconsin's is 32.9 cents. Indiana's is 51.7 cents.
When the gas tax in Illinois increased again in July, it meant
the average driver pays $184 more in gas taxes each year
compared to before 2019, when a bipartisan group of state
legislators and Gov. J.B. Pritzker doubled the tax with annual
increases tied to inflation.
Earlier this year, state Rep. Dan Caulkins, R-Decatur, called
for a gas tax freeze.
“People who are having to drive to work need some relief because
we clearly know that inflation has eaten into everyone’s
budget,” said Caulkins.
Illinois is one of seven states that charges a sales tax on
gasoline, adding it after the motor fuel tax is applied. That
means Illinois motorists pay sales taxes on top of the taxes
they pay for gasoline.
Dylan Sharkey with the Illinois Policy Institute said
unfortunately Illinois is near the top in other tax lists as
well, including the second highest property taxes and second
highest corporate income tax rate.
“It's one thing to be near the top of one ranking but for
Illinois to consistently be near the top for all of them goes to
show that people are losing out in multiple ways,” said Sharkey.
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