Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office is using a major capital bill as a vehicle to grease lawmakers for a progressive income tax amendment. But the tax hikes to pay for it would make Illinoisans’ gas tax burden the second highest in the nation.
Imposing more Mickey Mouse taxes in Illinois is just goofy, but that’s what a proposal in Springfield would do to users of the new Disney Plus and other streaming services.
Lawmakers in the Illinois House are weighing a bill that would tax streaming and satellite service users “for the privilege to witness, view, or otherwise enjoy the entertainment.”
The Republican plan hits Illinoisans in fiscal year 2018 with the same $5 billion-plus tax hike from the “grand bargain” plan that failed in May. That plan starts with a 33 percent income tax increase, and includes questionable new taxes on services such as Netflix, laundry services and more.
With bipartisan support, members of the Illinois House adopted a resolution opposing the internet streaming tax proposal – which might not even be legal — in the Senate’s “grand bargain.”
A new proposal from state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Chicago Heights, would tax internet streaming services in Illinois, much like the potentially illegal internet streaming tax implemented in Chicago.