Families are getting crushed, and Springfield just made it worse
DECATUR, IL… State Representative Regan Deering (R-Decatur) is alerting constituents to the new and increased taxes being implemented on July 1st, 2025. These changes come after Illinois’ FY26 budget, supported only by Democrats, was signed last week by Governor Pritzker, spending $55.2 billion and includes $1 billion in tax increases.
Existing taxes that will see an increase include the tax on tobacco and nicotine products and the telecommunications tax. Any nicotine and tobacco products, including e-cigarettes and patches to quit smoking, will be taxed 45%. The cell phone tax will go from 7% to 8.65%.
“This is what failed leadership looks like, and you are paying the price,” Deering began. “Illinoisans are already cash-strapped and unable to keep up. Rather than cutting government waste, Democrats in Springfield raised your taxes to continue their reckless abuse of tax dollars – including money for pork projects in their districts, free handouts for illegal immigrants, and, to top it all off, a nice pay raise for themselves.”
Illinois Democrats also created a new per-wager tax on online sports betting and are requiring short-term rentals to collect the Hotel Operators’ Occupation tax. For online sports betting, there will be an additional tax of between 25 and 50 cents per wager, depending on the amount of bets placed. Also, short-term rentals booked on online sources, like Airbnb and Vrbo, are now subject to the same tax rate as hotels, at a rate of 6% of 94% of gross receipts.
“I am appalled by my colleagues’ and Governor Pritzker’s actions to pass and sign a budget that is banking on one-time revenue streams, new taxes, and tax hikes, while leaving out any measures to help reduce the economic burden for working families,” continued Deering. “We need to do better, and we can. This is unethical governance, and it needs to be stopped.”
Rep. Deering voted against every tax increase the General Assembly introduced this Spring Session.
For more information, please contact Rep. Deering at (217) 876-1968 or at RepDeering.com.
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