State Representative Ryan Spain responded on May 27 to Governor JB Pritzker’s recent comments regarding potential gas price relief for Illinois taxpayers.
“With the Governor joining House Republicans’ call for gas price relief, please allow me to suggest that we start with a six-month suspension on the sales tax on gasoline. House Bill 5738 can be an appropriate bipartisan vehicle for this relief and not only provides critically needed relief to Illinois taxpayers but also pauses a tax-on-a-tax. The extra revenue this sales tax generates over the last six months of 2026 would not impact the State’s Rebuild Illinois Plan, the program which repairs roads and bridges,” Spain said.
Spain made these remarks after Governor Pritzker addressed reporters in Champaign, where he said, “We have enough here so that we could make some sort of pause. But I think that’s something the legislature is going to consider over the coming week. We’ll see.”
Illinois currently has the highest combined state and local tax rate in the country, according to WalletHub. The state’s burden is attributed to property, sales, and excise taxes that surpass national averages as well as those in neighboring states.
In response to ongoing concerns about affordability for residents, Deputy Republican Leader Ryan Spain filed House Bill 5738 on April 2. The bill would provide a six-month holiday from state gasoline sales taxes from July 1 through December 31, 2026. Spain said it is “the right thing to do for both consumers and the state’s economy.”
Spain was elected as a Republican representative of Illinois’ 73rd House District in 2017, succeeding David R. Leitch, according to his office.
