Illinois lawmakers are looking to expand sales taxes to include things such as streaming services, gym memberships, vehicle repairs, hair care and other services to bail out Chicago’s failing transit systems and put more money in government budgets.
By Bryce Hill and Dylan Sharkey | Illinois Policy Institute
Illinois lawmakers are looking to collect $2.7 billion statewide by expanding sales taxes from mainly goods to many services such as streaming services, rideshares, gym memberships, car repair and more.
Members of the Illinois General Assembly said their Democratic peers are in stealth mode trying to pass the massive tax increase before adjournment May 31. They are claiming the money is needed to solve Chicago’s Regional Transit Authority fiscal crisis.
“We want you to be on alert. It is time for taxpayers to guard your wallet in the state of Illinois. We are already taxed to the max,” said state Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria.
Illinoisans would find themselves paying sales taxes on:
- Netflix and streaming services.
- Rideshare services such as Über and Lyft.
- Gym memberships.
- Barbershops and beauty salons.
- Car washes and car repair.
- Plumbing, electrical and other repair.
- Lawn care and landscaping.
Spain said a longer list of the taxable services is found at StopILServiceTax.com.
The money generated would mean nearly $2 billion for the state, $50 million for county governments, $390 million for municipal governments and $315 million for the RTA at current baseline tax rates. Other proposals would raise the RTA sales tax rate or cut the statewide rate.
Read more here.
Editorial note: “Complete list of over 80 service tax hike categories being proposed for Illinois:
- Aircraft lease or rental (≤ 60 days)
- Alteration and garment repair
- Armored car services
- Bank & financial institution service charges
- Barber and beauty services
- Battery, tire, and allied services
- Boat repair
- Camera repair
- Campgrounds
- Carpentry repair and installation
- Carpet, rug, and upholstery cleaning or repair
- Communication services
- Dance schools and studios
- Dating services
- Demolition
- Dry cleaning, pressing, dyeing, laundering
- Electrical & electronic repair or installation
- Employment and executive search agencies
- Excavating and grading
- Extermination services
- Farm implement repair of all kinds
- Flying service and flight instruction
- Furniture repair and cleaning
- Fur storage and repair
- Garbage collection & disposal (nonresidential commercial)
- Golf & country club dues and other commercial recreation fees
- Gun repair
- House & building moving
- Household appliance, TV, and radio repair
- Investment counseling
- Information services
- Janitorial & nonresidential building maintenance/cleaning
- Jewelry and watch repair
- Landscaping, lawn care, tree trimming & removal
- Machine operator fees
- Machine repair of all kinds
- Massages (unless by a licensed massage therapist)
- Mini storage
- Motor repair
- Motor vehicle, RV, and recreational boat rental (without driver)
- Motorcycle, scooter, and bicycle repair
- Oilers & lubricators (vehicles and machines)
- Office & business machine repair
- Painting, papering, interior decorating
- Parking facilities
- Pay television (incl. streaming, VOD, pay per view)
- Personal transportation services
- Pet grooming
- Photography & photo retouching services
- Pipe fitting
- Plumbing (incl. drain cleaning, pipe unplugging)
- Reflexology
- Retouching photographs
- Roof, shingle, and glass repair
- Security & detective services
- Sewage services
- Sewing and stitching
- Shoe repair and shoeshine
- Sign construction and installation
- Services related to installing/maintaining/upgrading specified digital products
- Software as a Service (SaaS)
- Storage warehouses/lockers for raw agricultural products
- Storage of household goods
- Storage of tangible or electronic files/documents/records
- Swimming pool cleaning and maintenance
- Tanning beds or salons
- Taxidermy
- Telecommunication services
- Telephone answering services
- Testing laboratories (excludes human, animal, environmental tests)
- Tin and sheet metal repair
- Tree trimming and removal
- Turkish baths & reducing salons
- Vehicle repair
- Vehicle wash and wax
- Video game services and tournaments
- Water conditioning and softening
- Weighing
- Welding
- Well drilling (repair only)
- Wood preparation (stripping, cleaning, sealing)
- Wrapping, packing, packaging of merchandise (except processed meats/fish/fowl/vegetables)
- Wrecker and towing”