Illinoisans are being reminded that those shopping in the state pay some of the nation’s highest taxes as the holiday season nears | GotCredit/Flicker
Illinoisans are being reminded that those shopping in the state pay some of the nation’s highest taxes as the holiday season nears | GotCredit/Flicker
As Christmas shoppers abound, Illinoisans are being reminded that those shopping in the state pay some of the nation’s highest taxes.
At an 8.8% average, Illinoisans pay the eighth highest sales tax rate in the country and the highest in the Midwest. That tax rate is regardless if shoppers are shopping in person or shopping online.
"Before 2021, online retailers such as Amazon and Ebay only had to charge the 6.25% state sales tax. Now, the 'Leveling the Playing Field for Illinois Retail Act' requires online retailers to charge local sales taxes to customers. For Chicagoans, that’s an extra 10.25%,” Dylan Sharkey reported for Illinois Policy.
Illinois is renowned for having high taxes. Since 1990, Illinois' property tax burden has increased by 76%, more than twice as quickly as the state's median household income. After New Jersey, the state has the highest property tax rate in the country, according to Illinois Policy.
According to Rocket Mortgage, Illinois' average annual property tax is $4,942 while average home values at $194,500 lag far behind most other parts of the country.
Illinois is a national anomaly when it comes to gas taxes, resulting in some of the highest gas prices in the country. In 2019, Gov. J.B. Pritzker approved a bill that quadrupled the state's gas tax. The second-highest gas tax in the nation is in Illinois. Illinois residents pay high gas taxes as a result of the different layers of taxes levied by various governments. For instance, drivers in Naperville shell out about 25% of their income in taxes, which include federal tax, two different state taxes, a DuPage County tax and a city tax, Wirepoints reported.
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