Illinois\u2019 transit bailout is the gift that keeps on giving \u2014 higher taxes and fees, that is.<\/p>\n
When the state pushed through a massive legislative package last year worth $1.5 billion<\/a> annually to rescue our mismanaged, broke transit systems, the full weight taxpayers would be expected to shoulder was hard to see.<\/p>\n Saturday, it\u2019s coming into focus.<\/p>\n On Aug. 1, the sales tax in Chicago is going up to 10.5% from 10.25%.<\/p>\n We have to stop and ask: How much is enough? What will it take to cover the basic functions we expect government to provide?<\/p>\n We are frequently bombarded with talk of revenue needs, the preferred terminology of those in Springfield, Cook County and Chicago who embrace tax hikes above reform. The cycle is as follows: There\u2019s a budget deficit. If we don\u2019t fix it, there will be service cuts. Oh, but we can avoid service cuts if we get more revenue. And the way to get more revenue is, unfortunately, to hike your taxes.<\/p>\n The sales tax hike we\u2019re all facing is the latest rinse and repeat of this toxic formula.<\/p>\n What\u2019s driving the increase? Last year\u2019s transit rescue. As part of revenue package bailing out northern Illinois\u2019 transit systems, rates are rising not only in Chicago but elsewhere in the region.<\/p>\n While Cook County\u2019s transit portion of the sales tax will rise to 1.25%, the collar counties will see their regional transit tax portion rise from 0.75% to 1.0%.<\/p>\n Whew. Confused? Perhaps that\u2019s because the sales tax you pay at Mariano\u2019s or the local Shell station comprises multiple layers of taxation.<\/p>\n On most purchases in the city, you pay a 6.25% statewide sales tax, a 1.25% Chicago sales tax, a 1.75% county sales tax and a 1% RTA tax (or 1.25%, starting in August).<\/p>\n Before the increase, Chicago already ranked among the major U.S. cities with the highest combined sales tax rates. Beginning Aug. 1, Chicago\u2019s combined rate will rise to 10.5%, one of the highest rates imposed by any major American city.<\/p>\n For those interested in keeping score, we will be tied with Tacoma, Washington; Long Beach, California; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, while still trailing Oakland (10.75%) and (barely) Seattle (10.55%), according to the Tax Foundation.<\/p>\n Whether Chicago ranks first, third or sixth is beside the point. A 10.5% sales tax is still extraordinarily high by national standards. It\u2019s why so many people relish the prospect of going shopping in lower-tax states when they can. Why buy a $200 winter coat on Michigan Avenue and pay 10.5% on top of the price when you could buy the same coat in Indiana and pay just 7%? Yet another example of Indiana embracing more competitive tax policy to attract Illinois customers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Readers already know and appreciate how frustrating this tax can be, especially at a time when cost of living is at the forefront of our minds.\u00a0<\/p>\n And while we recently applauded<\/a> the forthcoming state sales tax holiday for back-to-school items \u2014 when the Illinois portion of the sales tax dips 5 percentage points, dropping from 6.25% to 1.25% \u2014 that 10-day window doesn\u2019t cover everything and it won\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n Here in Illinois, we like to pay more to plug fiscal holes rather than undertaking a full scale repair of what\u2019s broken. Scratch that \u2014 we like taxpayers to pay. And pay they will, not just in sales tax but in what presumably will be much higher tolls<\/a> and other hikes. All to prop up transit systems that will not be reformed enough to guarantee we won\u2019t be back here again somewhere down the road.<\/p>\n We accepted the toll hikes late last year following passage of the legislation as preferable to more economically destructive tax hikes House Democrats were proposing. But we argued then<\/a> \u2014 and reiterate now \u2014 our opposition to the sales tax increase, especially as transit users weren\u2019t asked to contribute a dime in the form of modestly increased fares.<\/p>\n Springfield promised taxpayers more than a transit bailout. It promised reform, safer trains, better service and a modernized transit system. Will we get what we\u2019re paying for?<\/p>\n Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here<\/a> or email letters@chicagotribune.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Illinois\u2019 transit bailout is the gift that keeps on giving \u2014 higher taxes and fees, that is. 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