Full Text of HR0116 100th General Assembly
HR0116 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Families have already suffered catastrophic | 3 | | damages as a result of the budget impasse
and, according to the | 4 | | Pew Center, a food and drug tax is the most regressive tax that | 5 | | punishes
citizens on a fixed income; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, In 2015, there were a total of 160,569,757 retail | 7 | | prescription drugs filled at
pharmacies in Illinois; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Prescription drug prices increased 12.6% in 2014, | 9 | | outpacing inflation; increasing
taxes for prescription drugs | 10 | | will become more financially straining for Illinois residents,
| 11 | | especially since 8.8% of Illinois senior citizens live in | 12 | | poverty; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, According to the Consumer Healthcare Products | 14 | | Association, over-the-counter (OTC)
medicines are a reliable | 15 | | and affordable way of maintaining wellness for millions of | 16 | | American
families; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, OTC medicines not only treat the symptoms of | 18 | | common ailments but also help
prevent a number of costly | 19 | | chronic conditions through products like smoking cessation
| 20 | | programs; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The average American household spends | 2 | | approximately $185 on non-prescribed OTC
medicines per year | 3 | | while the average senior citizen spends $356 yearly; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Many states have already acknowledged the | 5 | | therapeutic value and cost-effectiveness
of OTC medicines and | 6 | | allow a retail sales tax exemption for the purchase of these | 7 | | products; Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, | 8 | | Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas,
Virginia, and the District | 9 | | of Columbia do not levy sales taxes on OTC medicines; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, The value of OTC medicines in the United States | 11 | | found that OTC medicines offer $102 billion in
annual savings | 12 | | relative to available alternatives; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, The Consumer Healthcare Products Association | 14 | | advocates for policies that support
access to OTC medicines by | 15 | | exempting them from sales tax; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Food security is an issue that places an enormous | 17 | | burden on struggling families within
Illinois; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Commission to End | 19 | | Hunger, almost 1.7 million Illinois
residents still face food | 20 | | insecurity, a number greater than the entire populations of | 21 | | Hawaii,
Montana, and 10 other states; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, According to the Illinois Commission to End | 2 | | Hunger, more than 449,000 low-income
Illinois children | 3 | | participate in the National School Lunch Program but do not | 4 | | receive school
breakfast; it is increasingly vital that food in | 5 | | the State be at a reasonable price; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, The lowest-income Americans spent an average of | 7 | | $3,667 on food in 2014, which
amounts to 31.4% of their income | 8 | | according to the United States Department of Agriculture; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, For a family of four living on $2,000 a month, to | 10 | | spend 34% of their income on food would equate to $8,160 a | 11 | | year; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, The states with the highest taxes on food, | 13 | | Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama, had
the highest rate of | 14 | | food insecurity in 2014; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Illinois may also lose tax revenue to bordering | 16 | | states; if Illinois increases taxes on
food and drug, residents | 17 | | may drive to Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Kentucky to purchase | 18 | | those
goods, causing additional harm to our economy; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, According to U.S. News and World Report, taxing | 20 | | groceries and prescription drugs shifts the state's
focus on |
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| 1 | | the real issues, which should be alleviating the barriers for | 2 | | quality food and necessary
medications for low-income | 3 | | citizens; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, In Illinois, the bottom 20% have an average income | 5 | | of $10,900 yet pay 13.2% of their
income to taxes; Illinois is | 6 | | currently ranked third for the highest taxes on the poor | 7 | | according to the
Institution of Taxation and Economic Policy; | 8 | | and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, A tax on food and prescriptions drugs is fiscally | 10 | | damaging to middle-class families
because their average income | 11 | | in $49,500 yet 10.8% goes toward taxes; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Expanding taxes on food and drugs | 13 | | disproportionately hurts lower-income families
further | 14 | | resulting in a higher rate of food insecurity; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Senior citizens and children are most affected by | 16 | | food insecurity and
drug prices; therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 18 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 19 | | believe that sales taxes on food and drugs should not be | 20 | | increased.
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