Video gambling is a huge cash cow for the state of Illinois and Democratic lawmakers want a bigger slice of the pie for Chicago.
A late addition to the $53.1 billion state budget that Gov. J.B. Pritzker is considering would raise the tax on the industry to 35%. The Pritzker administration estimated that the tax hike would generate an additional $35 million next fiscal year.
Springfield Mayor Misty Buscher said she recently met with the Illinois Licensed Beverage Association, which voiced concerns about more taxes on small businesses.
“With the minimum wage going up and the Paid Leave for All Workers Act, there have been a lot of additional expenses on small business, so they were very concerned about their revenues,” Buscher said at an unrelated news conference in Springfield this week.
