Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is calling for the state's sales tax on groceries to be permanently abolished, but some local officials are expressing concerns about the change.
The announcement was made during Pritzker’s budget address in Springfield last week, with the governor calling the proposed elimination a boost for families still hit hard by increasing prices. Pritzker blasted the 1% tax as a “regressive tax” that the state doesn’t need.
"The state of Illinois is getting out of the business of charging a grocery tax," he said during a media event Monday.
During his budget address, the governor said that the elimination of the tax is the "right" thing to do for the state, and that saving taxpayers money is his priority.
“If it reduces inflation for families from 4% to 3%, even if it only puts a few hundred bucks back in families’ pockets, it’s the right thing to do,” he said.
Under current Illinois law, home-rule communities are permitted to assess a sales tax of their own on groceries, and Pritzker says he has no intention of ending that practice.
Local
“If they want to in Henry County, in Union County, in local towns and cities across the state, if they want to impose the 1% grocery tax, we will leave it up to them to do it," he said.
According to Zamp, at least 15 states, including Illinois, currently have some sort of sales tax on groceries. Some of these states don’t have statewide taxes, but do allow local governments to assess sales taxes on grocery items. That is the case in Illinois, according to the website.
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The 1% tax on groceries applies specifically to items that are meant to “be consumed off the premises where they are sold,” according to state law.
The sales tax was suspended as part of Pritzker’s Fiscal Year 2022 budget, with officials projecting that it could save shoppers up to $400 million.
The measure still needs to go before lawmakers, and it is unclear if it will pass.
Pritzker laid out numerous other proposals in the speech, including an expanded child tax credit, purchasing medical debt and forgiving it for hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans, and other new programs.
According to Pritzker, the proposed budget is balanced for the fifth consecutive year, with the governor praising the state’s credit upgrades and increased savings under his watch.
