State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) noted the bill is unlikely to gain traction toward becoming law. | Facebook
State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) noted the bill is unlikely to gain traction toward becoming law. | Facebook
Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) is sponsoring a bill which would cap the state sales tax on motor fuel at 18 cents per gallon.
“House Bill 5723 actually caps - lowers and caps - the gas tax. We’re one of the few states that pays a percentage - a sales tax gas tax - on top of the base, per gallon gas tax. So what’s happening right now is the state of Illinois is actually seeing a windfall revenue on the backs of lower- and middle-income people, because as gas prices go up, they actually pay a much higher per-gallon tax to the state,” Batinick said in a video posted to YouTube.
Other Republican legislators have joined as co-sponsors, including Reps. Seth Lewis (R-Bartlett), Amy Grant (R-Wheaton), Chris Miller (R-Robinson), Brad Halbrook (R-Shelbyville), and Martin McLaughlin (R-Lake Barrington).
According to AAA, as of April 9, the average price of a gallon of regular gas in Illinois is $4.366, up from $3.077 one year ago. The average price for one gallon of gas in the nation is $4.123.
According to Illinois Policy, the people of Illinois pay the second-highest gas tax in the country, where a sales tax needs to be paid on top of the per gallon gas tax. The state gas tax was doubled by Gov. Pritzker from 19 cents to 38 cents in 2019.
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