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In total, Illinois will see $1.1 billion in tax hikes over the
next year. They will support a record-high $53.1 billion state
budget.
Taxes for gasoline will be 47 cents per gallon and 54 cents per
gallon for diesel. The gas tax hike means Illinois drivers will
have to pay an average of $184 more per year on gas than they
did in 2019.
The increase is part of the Rebuild Illinois capital plan. In
2019, lawmakers voted to double the gas tax from 19 cents per
gallon to 38 cents per gallon with annual increases tied to
inflation. Illinois is one of just a few states that also
assesses its sales tax on top of the gas tax.
“When you add up what people pay in gas taxes at the federal,
state and local level, Illinois pays the second most in gas
taxes in the nation to only California and obviously the highest
in the Midwest by far,” said Dylan Sharkey, an editor with
Illinois Policy Institute.
By comparison, Missouri is also raising the motor fuel tax on
July 1 to 27 cents per gallon, according to the Missouri
Department of Revenue.
Also on July 1, electric vehicle owners in Illinois will be
charged a $100 yearly fee to make up for lost tax revenue, on
top of the annual registration fee.
Video game taxes will increase by 1 percentage point, to 35%,
and the sports wagering tax will rise for sportsbook operators.
The tax will move from a 15% flat rate to a progressive rate of
up to 35%.
Sharkey said Illinois is near the top of many lists for the
wrong reasons.
“It would be one thing if we had just had the second highest gas
tax in the country, but we also have the second highest
corporate income tax rate and the second highest property tax
rate, so it is one thing to be atop of one ranking, but Illinois
being constantly near the top for all of them goes to show you
that people are losing out in multiple ways,” said Sharkey.
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