Sen. Sue Rezin | Courtesy photo
Sen. Sue Rezin | Courtesy photo
Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) is not happy with the temporary tax relief in the budget and believes that this is only delaying the ‘speed bump’ of a tax hike until after the election.
"Nothing is going to change. We're just moving the speed bump from the summer to after the election. That's what's happening here," Rezin said on the Senate floor before the vote on the budget. "Let's be honest here. And what's frustrating for us is my colleagues who talked about the budget on the other side and all of the good things in it and there are good things in it and I appreciate that. But what's frustrating for us is to see a billion dollars in additional capital projects paid with federal dollars and they're not in any of our districts on this side. None of them. So that's a billion dollars – in our opinion – that instead of being used on member projects on that side for capital projects could have been used to put against this deficit."
Senate Bill 157, which lays out revenue-related measures and the tax relief proposal, passed both the Senate and the House on April 9.
The bill was introduced to give some tax relief to taxpayers. However, the tax breaks are not permanent. The delayed hike in the gas tax resumes January 1, and the 0% tax on groceries expires in June 2023.
Republicans liked the tax breaks, but not the fact they're temporary.
“Supporting this package of tax breaks is the right thing to do as we fight the effects of inflation that is continuing to run rampant,” Rep. Patrick Windhorst (R-Harrisburg) said, the Metropolis Planet reported. “Illinois government must change direction to stop people from leaving and to attract more people to come to our state. That must start with lowering the overall tax burden on a more permanent basis.”
Senate Bill 157 also creates the Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity (MICRO) Act, which was a big selling point for Republican legislators. MICRO will create tax incentives for manufacturers of semiconductors, microchips or semiconductor or microchip component parts.
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