PEORIA, Ill. – A central Illinois legislator says he’s against a proposed delivery tax that he says would not have any benefits for downstate voters.
The proposal was approved by the State Senate in the spring session, but did not receive a vote in the House. It would charge a $1.50 tax on most deliveries in the state, to help fund a deficit in Chicago’s mass transit system that is estimated to be at least $750 million.
87th District Republican State Representative Bill Hauter of Morton tells W-M-B-D’s “The Phil Luciano Show” that the tax is “wrong.”
“You’re taking away from families and people, some of them are on a fixed income and depend on deliveries so much for their daily needs, and you’re just taxing those people,” Hauter said.
Hauter says reforms should be addressed with the transit system before taxes are approved. He says ridership has dropped significantly since COVID, which has led to the problems. Hauter wants to see a reduction in routes, as well as streamlining and reducing labor and administrative costs, as measures to reduce the deficit.
Other ways Hauter says the money could be raised without taxes is to utilize interest earned in some of the state’s funds, such as the road fund or rainy day fund. An additional source he proposes could be a Chicago-area rideshare tax, but has concerns with that proposal over service taxes and fees already being added by Uber or Lyft.
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