(WBBM NEWSRADIO) - Illinois political leaders want you to know they’re responsible for the gas tax freeze, but gas station owners don’t want to be forced to advertise that fact. So they’re suing the state.
The signs have to be four inches by eight inches - on every pump - announcing the gas tax freeze on July 1. That’s the mandate that passed the general assembly. The penalty for not displaying a sign touting the gas tax freeze: $500 a day, per pump.
“They go up during the election season and they come down when the election is over,” said Josh Sharp, CEO of the Illinois Fuel and Retail Association.
His group is suing the state revenue department, among others, saying that requiring gas stations to put up signs ballyhooing a temporary tax freeze is unconstitutional.
“This is not a safety warning. It’s not a mandated octane rating. This is to let everybody in the state know that the state of Illinois is kicking the can down the road on a tax increase,” Sharp added.
A spokesperson for the department of revenue issued the following statement:
“The department has a responsibility to implement state statute. We do not comment on pending litigation.”
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But Sharp does not believe the signs might draw more customers.
“I don’t think so at all. And that’s because the tax isn’t going down. A lot of people are under the impression this is a tax decrease, when it’s not.
“All it is, is the state of Illinois refusing to raise your taxes any higher - and then calling that a big win. They’re just going to raise them twice in 2023.”