State Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer announced on April 9 his support for House Bill 5738, which would suspend the state sales tax on gasoline in Illinois for six months starting July 1 through December 31, 2026.
The proposed legislation comes as drivers in Illinois face high fuel prices, with the average price of gasoline reaching $4.27 per gallon in central Illinois during the first week of April. Illinois currently has the second-highest gas tax in the nation at 48.3 cents per gallon and also charges a state sales tax of 6.25 percent on gasoline purchases.
Davidsmeyer said he is sponsoring the bill to provide relief to residents affected by rising costs at the pump and noted that similar measures have been enacted previously. “Working families and seniors were already struggling with the high cost of living in Illinois,” Rep. Davidsmeyer said. “Now they are feeling serious pain at the pumps when they fill up on gas. To provide some relief from high gas prices, we should suspend the sales tax on gas for the rest of the year. Illinois has done this before, and we need to do it again now. It’s the least the State can do to deliver some much-needed relief to our residents.”
Recent legislative actions have redirected funds from Downstate road projects toward mass transit in Chicago, according to Davidsmeyer’s statement about last October’s veto session that saw a $2.5 billion bailout for Chicago’s mass transit system funded partly by revenue from state gasoline taxes.
“Thanks to JB Pritzker and the Democrat majority, the revenue from the state sales tax on gas no longer goes to funding Downstate road projects,” Davidsmeyer said. “So, to me, it’s a no-brainer to suspend this tax when gas prices are at historic highs. Illinois families cannot afford to pay this tax-on-a-tax when gas prices are so high.”
Davidsmeyer was elected as a Republican representative for Illinois’ 100th House District in 2012 after replacing previous state representative Jim Watson according to available information.
