Rockford Sun

Two Illinois senators want to combat record breaking gas prices as gas stations around the United States raise prices at the pump.

Senators Dave Syverson and Donald DeWitte suggest capping “state sales tax on motor fuel,” according to a report by the State Journal-Register.

“With gas prices continuing to skyrocket, we could easily see the average price of gas to be around $5 per gallon,” Syverson said in a March 10 release on his website. “We would be providing relief at the pump now, and then preventing any future sales tax increase. We must pass emergency relief legislation before we leave this spring session.”

The government has no business capitalizing on a crisis at the expense of struggling families across the state, Syverson said.

“Money is always better left in the pockets of taxpayers who know how to spend their money better than the government does,” he said.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported motorists are paying 15% in taxes at the pump.

Syverson and DeWitte held a press conference at the Capitol March 10 calling on members of the Illinois General Assembly and Gov. J.B. Pritzker to immediately cap the state’s sales tax on gas at 18 cents per gallon, which was the price consumers were paying before the drastic increase in recent months, the release stated.

With the senators’ proposal, Illinois consumers could expect to save nearly $1 billion over the next fiscal year, or 16 cents per gallon, assuming gas prices are at $5.50 per gallon, according to the release. Additionally, the measure would continue to provide funding for Illinois’ infrastructure projects.

“We just simply cap the state’s sales tax at 18 cents per gallon, the price we were paying approximately a year ago,” Syverson said.

Illinois has two types of taxes on gasoline: a motor fuel tax and a sales tax, according to the State Journal-Register. The motor fuel tax is a flat tax that doesn't change if the price of gasoline changes. The funds raised from that go into a fund designated for transportation-related fees and projects.

The sales tax is proportional to the price of gasoline. The current state sales tax rate is 6.25%, plus whatever local sales tax may be imposed. The state sales tax goes into the state's general fund.

Illinois is one of seven states that charge a sales tax on top of a gas tax, the release stated. While both the state and federal gas taxes are flat taxes, which means the tax does not change with the price of fuel, Illinois also charges a sales tax on top of the motor fuel tax.

Syverson has established a petition to “Roll back the gas tax” on his website. He is seeking 250 signatures from people who support capping the gas sales tax.

“Prices are now at a point where they're devastating families,” Syverson said.

As of Friday, Illinois had the highest gas prices in the Midwest and the eighth-highest prices overall, according to AAA, which tracks gas prices nationwide.