SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker plans to raise $75 million for his proposed budget by capping the amount of money retailers can keep for collecting sales tax for the state.
He also said Wednesday he wants to impose a 5-cent plastic bag fee.
Retailers may keep 1.75 percent of the money they collect from the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax. Pritzker would cap that at $1,000 per month. The Illinois Retail Merchants Association is concerned about it.
Pritzker spokeswoman Jordan Abudayyeh (a-boo-DAY’-uh) says the majority of retailers would see no reduction in discount. She says taxable retail sales are concentrated among a relatively small number of high-volume stores.
Pritzker says a plastic bag tax would raise $20 million for the state. Chicago has a 7-cent bag tax. Retailers there keep 2 cents of that.
