By Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. J.B. Pritzker will soon have a bill on his desk that has promised to veto, setting up what will likely be the first legislative clash between lawmakers and the freshman executive.
Pritzker has vetoed seven bills thus far, mostly because similar legislation had already been enacted in other bills. He pledged to veto House Bill 3902 as well. He said that the industry should not be receiving a tax break. Thirty other states provide a similar exemption to aviation maintenance companies.
Pritzker said companies that work on private jets shouldn’t be getting about $50 million in tax breaks after the House passed the measure, but before the Senate called it for a vote.
“I just don’t think it’s right given the state of our finances in the state of Illinois,” the governor said at an event.
Senators passed it nearly unanimously last week. State Sen. Rachelle Crowe said the removal of the sales tax exemption was more akin to a mistake because state officials didn’t even know about it.
“The state did not know it and the industry did not know it,” she said.
The Legislative Research Unit’s 2019 Tax Handbook said companies that offer “(m)aterials and components incorporated into or upon an aircraft as part of its modification, completion, repair, or maintenance” were exempt from Illinois’ occupational sales tax. The companies have said they didn’t collect the taxes from customers from 2015 to 2019. They would have to pay the taxes out of pocket.
As of Tuesday, lawmakers had not sent the legislation to Pritzker, a move sometimes employed when lawmakers expect a veto and want to negotiate with the governor.
State Rep. Monica Bristow, D-Alton, sponsored the bill. She didn’t respond to requests for comment.
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