Illinois has the second highest gas taxes in the country, at 66.5 cents per gallon. This makes things even harder for drivers financially, since oil prices are going up and taxes are high everywhere else.
Illinois Gas Taxes Second Highest in U.S. – Drivers Face Increased Costs Amid Rising Oil Prices
According to the Washington Examiner, Illinois has some of the highest gas taxes in the country, at 66.5 cents per gallon. Only California has higher gas taxes. Fuel costs are going up even more because of these high taxes and rising oil prices caused by conflicts in the Middle East. Nearby states like Missouri, Iowa, and Kentucky, on the other hand, have much lower gas taxes, running from 18 to 30 cents per gallon.
Since Illinois recently raised its gas tax, drivers now pay about $184 more a year than they did before 2019. This rise was caused by a plan to double the tax and add yearly increases based on inflation. State Rep. Dan Caulkins wants the gas tax to stay the same because he says it makes it harder for drivers to pay their bills during times of inflation.
Illinois Adds Sales Tax to Gasoline, Contributing to State’s High Tax Burden on Residents
The price of gas is already high in Illinois, but they add a sales tax on top of it. The state also has a lot of other taxes, like property taxes and business income taxes. Dylan Sharkey from the Illinois Policy Institute says that the high taxes are having many effects on the people who live there, which shows that the state as a whole has high taxes.