McHenry Times

State Rep. Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) wants to see more being done in Springfield to relieve the pressure he senses is being felt by taxpayers across the state.

“It's nice that we are finally talking about tax reduction on the floor,” Ugaste said during a recent House session debating Senate Bill 157. “But, I wish we were talking about more permanent reductions for the citizens of Illinois, seeing as how we're one of the highest taxed states in the nation.”

Senate Bill 157 creates several tax credits for taxpayers. The measure also creates the Manufacturing Illinois Chips for Real Opportunity (MICRO) Act, which served as a major selling point for Republican lawmakers who sought tax credits for manufacturers of semiconductors, microchips or semiconductor or microchip component parts.

The bill passed both chambers on April 9, and was signed into law by Gov. Pritzker April 19.

Though the bill made it into law, Ugaste said it could have done more. “It would’ve been even nicer if we could have provided real tax relief to business owners who went through this pandemic.”

Ugaste said he’s now worried laborers may soon began to lose benefits because lawmakers did not completely pay off a $1.8 billion deficit in the unemployment insurance trust fund.

“There would be no further tax on jobs and there would’ve been benefit cuts to our employees at the time when they're facing massive inflation,” he said.