Bill Text: IL HR0029 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Declares opposition to raising the sales taxes on food and drugs.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-07-02 - Rule 19(b) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HR0029 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-HR0029-Introduced.html
| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| ||||||
2 | WHEREAS, Families have already suffered catastrophic | ||||||
3 | damages as a result of the budget impasse
and, according to the | ||||||
4 | Pew Center, a food and drug tax is the most regressive tax that | ||||||
5 | punishes
citizens on a fixed income; and
| ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, In 2015, there were a total of 160,569,757 retail | ||||||
7 | prescription drugs filled at
pharmacies in Illinois; and
| ||||||
8 | WHEREAS, Prescription drug prices increased 12.6% in 2014, | ||||||
9 | outpacing inflation; increasing
taxes for prescription drugs | ||||||
10 | will create more of a financial strain for Illinois residents,
| ||||||
11 | especially since 8.8% of Illinois senior citizens live in | ||||||
12 | poverty; and
| ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, According to the Consumer Healthcare Products | ||||||
14 | Association, over-the-counter (OTC)
medicines are a reliable | ||||||
15 | and affordable way of maintaining wellness for millions of | ||||||
16 | American
families; and
| ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, OTC medicines not only treat the symptoms of | ||||||
18 | common ailments but also help
prevent a number of costly | ||||||
19 | chronic conditions through products like smoking cessation
| ||||||
20 | programs; and
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | WHEREAS, The average American household spends | ||||||
2 | approximately $185 on non-prescribed OTC
medicines per year | ||||||
3 | while the average senior citizen spends $356 yearly; and
| ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, Many states have already acknowledged the | ||||||
5 | therapeutic value and cost-effectiveness
of OTC medicines and | ||||||
6 | allow a retail sales tax exemption for the purchase of these | ||||||
7 | products; Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, | ||||||
8 | Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas,
Virginia, and the District | ||||||
9 | of Columbia do not levy sales taxes on OTC medicines; and
| ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, The 2012 Value of OTC Medicine to the United | ||||||
11 | States report found that OTC medicines offer $102 billion in
| ||||||
12 | annual savings relative to available alternatives; and
| ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, The Consumer Healthcare Products Association | ||||||
14 | advocates for policies that support
access to OTC medicines by | ||||||
15 | exempting them from sales tax; and
| ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, Food security is an issue that places an enormous | ||||||
17 | burden on struggling families within
Illinois; and
| ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Commission to End | ||||||
19 | Hunger, almost 1.7 million Illinois
residents still face food | ||||||
20 | insecurity, a number greater than the entire populations of | ||||||
21 | Hawaii,
Montana, and 10 other states; and
|
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Commission to End | ||||||
2 | Hunger, more than 449,000 low-income
Illinois children | ||||||
3 | participate in the National School Lunch Program but do not | ||||||
4 | receive school
breakfast; it is increasingly vital that food in | ||||||
5 | the State be at a reasonable price; and
| ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, The lowest-income Americans spent an average of | ||||||
7 | $3,667 on food in 2014, which
amounts to 31.4% of their income | ||||||
8 | according to the United States Department of Agriculture; and
| ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, For a family of four living on $2,000 a month, to | ||||||
10 | spend 34% of their income on food would equate to $8,160 a | ||||||
11 | year; and
| ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, The states with the highest taxes on food, | ||||||
13 | Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama, had
the highest rate of | ||||||
14 | food insecurity in 2014; and
| ||||||
15 | WHEREAS, Illinois may also lose tax revenue to bordering | ||||||
16 | states; if Illinois increases taxes on
food and drug, residents | ||||||
17 | may drive to Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Kentucky to purchase | ||||||
18 | those
goods, causing additional harm to our economy; and
| ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, According to U.S. News and World Report, taxing | ||||||
20 | groceries and prescription drugs shifts the state's
focus on |
| |||||||
| |||||||
1 | the real issues, which should be alleviating the barriers for | ||||||
2 | quality food and necessary
medications for low-income | ||||||
3 | citizens; and
| ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, In Illinois, the bottom 20% have an average income | ||||||
5 | of $10,900 yet pay 13.2% of their
income to taxes; Illinois is | ||||||
6 | currently ranked third for the highest taxes on the poor | ||||||
7 | according to the
Institution of Taxation and Economic Policy; | ||||||
8 | and
| ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, A tax on food and prescription drugs is fiscally | ||||||
10 | damaging to middle-class families
because their average income | ||||||
11 | is $49,500 yet 10.8% goes toward taxes; and
| ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, Expanding taxes on food and drugs | ||||||
13 | disproportionately hurts lower-income families,
further | ||||||
14 | resulting in a higher rate of food insecurity; and
| ||||||
15 | WHEREAS, Senior citizens and children are most affected by | ||||||
16 | food insecurity and
drug prices; therefore, be it
| ||||||
17 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
18 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
19 | we believe that sales taxes on food and drugs should not be | ||||||
20 | increased.
|