McHenry Times

Sen. Dan McConchie (R-Lake Zurich) is stressing the need for permanent tax cuts.

“What we need to do is have this on an ongoing basis,” McConchie said recently. “Not as some of the plan proposals are, which are having checks arrive right before the election and then tax reductions expire after the election.”

According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, the state has a 1% sales tax on food.

Senate Bill 4164 was filed by Sen. Don DeWitte (R-West Dundee) and would cut sales tax permanently on food, medical devices and prescription drugs. It was introduced on Feb. 9 and referred to the Senate Assignments Committee.

DeWitte hopes senior citizens benefit from the bill’s proposed tax exemption.

“We are proposing increasing the senior tax exemption that seniors receive from $1,000 to $2,000 a year, which amounts to taxpayers’ savings of about $40 million,” he said at an April 7 press conference, according to the Kane County Reporter. “(The Democrats’) plan does not include any specific relief for seniors. And the only provision of their plan that remotely addresses Illinois senior residents is the expansion of the earned income tax credit to individuals who are 65 years or older and who meet all of the eligibility stipulations in their plan to receive the earned income tax credit.”

SB4163 amends the income tax code to increases the property tax income tax credit from 5% to 10%. It was introduced by Sen. Chapin Rose (R-Decatur) on Feb. 9 and referred to the Senate Assignments Committee.

SB4161 would make the senior income tax exemptions permanent, and increase the exemptions that seniors receive on their income taxes from $1,000 to $2,000 per year. It was introduced by Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) on Feb. 9 and referred to the Senate Assignments Committee.

Kiplinger ranked Illinois as the least tax-friendly for middle-class families. It reported the state’s average combined state and local sales tax is 8.81%.