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Weaver said the tax may be challenged in court.
“Anytime a tax is tried for the first time ever, you’ve got to
wonder why the other 49 states aren't doing it. It probably has
to do with the fact that they think that it's illegal,” Weaver
told The Center Square.
In addition to the tax on sports wagering, the state revenue
package passed by the General Assembly last spring and signed by
Gov. J.B. Pritzker in June includes taxes on digital assets,
prediction markets and digital advertising, along with a social
media platform fee.
Weaver said Pritzker tried five new taxes that were never tried
in any other state.
“Because of that, they actually aren't even predicting any
revenue because of those taxes. They're actually predicting
costs because of those taxes,” Weaver said.
The Peoria Republican said Illinoisans are tapped out on new
taxes.
“So, they're predicting that they're not going to raise any
money on these new taxes, but they're only going to get sued.
So, they put costs on them for the attorney general to go and
defend them. I think that's ridiculous,” Weaver said.
With lawsuits already filed against three of the revenue
measures, Weaver said litigation could cost taxpayers millions
of dollars.
“Attorneys are expensive. You’ve got to fund the attorney
general to do these cases. There's five different cases. Each of
them, I anticipate, will probably get sued from a lot of
different angles,” Weaver said.
Last month, Weaver filed House Bill 5806 to repeal the social
media platform fee and HB 5807 to repeal the digital advertising
tax.
State Rep. John Cabello, R-Machesney Park, filed HB 5798 to
repeal the digital assets tax less than a week after Pritzker
signed it into law in June.
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