Lake County Gazette

Lake Villa raised its sales tax beginning on Jan. 1, along with 19 other local government entities, the Illinois Policy Institute reports.

The Lake County municipality rate change was among the highest reported by the Illinois Department of Revenue, which published a full list of rate changes and the previous tax rates for local government entities as required by statue. This means that businesses or any other entity that collects sales tax will have to update cash registers and other accounting software to ensure proper collection and payment of sales taxes.

The Jan. 1 rate increase in Lake Villa amounted to a total of 1 percent, which raised the sales tax rate from 7 to 8 percent. The sales tax won’t apply to certain food, drug, medical appliances or other specialized sales, said the pamphlet from the state agency.

The Illinois Policy Institute, which focuses its work on public policy initiatives, noted that the recent sales tax increase may have a detrimental effect on the state’s economy and places an unfair tax burden on working-class families who will spend a disproportionate piece of their income on the increased sales tax.

The people living and working in Lake Villa are in a slightly better position than those in Chicago, which has the highest sales tax rate in the nation. Still, tax burdens for all of the state’s residents are high in comparison to the rest of the country.

Illinois has the fifth-highest combined tax burden in the nation and the highest property taxes.