Illinois State House District 54 issued the following announcement on June 29
There are quite a few laws that will take effect starting July 1st in Illinois. Below is a list of the new changes to our current law:
Increased Penalties for Using Cellphones While Driving
Police will no longer give warning tickets but instead you will now be issued a moving violation if you are using a cellphone while driving.
That means no texting, talking, or even touching your phone, unless you are utilizing hands-free phone technology such as Bluetooth. To clarify, it’s also illegal to text or talk while holding a device at a stop sign, at a red light or while sitting in traffic.
The ban is not limited to cellphones and includes any “electronic communication device.”
Three moving violations in a 12-month period will lead to a license suspension.
Gas Tax Increase
Illinois’ state gas tax will increase to 38 cents from the current 19 cents per gallon.
In addition to the state-level increase, the bill allows Chicago to increase its local gas tax by 3 cents. It allows Lake County and Will County to impose a gas tax of up to 8 cents per gallon. And DuPage, Kane and McHenry counties would be able to double their 4-cent-per-gallon gas taxes to 8 cents.
Increased Cigarette Tax
The current cigarette tax in Illinois is $1.98. Starting July 1st it will be increased to $2.98.
E-Cigarette Tax
Imposes a 15% tax on the wholesale price of electronic cigarettes, like vaping products or e-cigarettes.
Video Gaming Terminals
Increases the tax on video gaming terminals (VGT) to 33% on net terminal income in the Fiscal Year 2020, and up to 34% in FY21. A 6th terminal will also be allowed to be placed at each establishment (currently, there may be no more than 5 VGTs per license).
Locally Imposed Sales for Remote Retailers
Requires that any “remote retailer” that currently is required to collect State sales tax must also begin collecting any locally-imposed sales tax currently administered by the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Corporate Tax Phase Out
Begins phasing out the corporate franchise tax in tax year 2020 by exempting the first $30 of tax liability. Currently, this tax is collected from corporations in the amount of 0.15 percent of paid-in capital when beginning business in the state, an additional 0.15 percent of any increase in paid-in capital during the year, and an annual tax of 0.10 percent of paid-in capital.
Original source can be found here.
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