Because the Leland Grove City Council is considering enacting a 1.00 percent local sales tax on general merchandise purchases, we are devoting this issue of The Leland Link to an explanation of the proposed tax and how the revenues would be used.

Nearly every city in Illinois already has a local sales tax, but this would be a first for Leland Grove. Before the popularity of buying products through the internet, there was little benefit to having a sales tax in Leland Grove, because the City doesn’t have a business district. However, as you can see from the many trucks delivering merchandise to our houses, consumer buying habits have changed, and a 1.00 percent local tax sales on those purchases would allow the city to diversify its revenue base and lessen its reliance on property taxes.

To be as transparent as possible, these “Frequently Asked Questions” (FAQ) present the facts about the proposed non-home rule sales tax. The information in this FAQ is compiled from material available through the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR), Illinois Municipal League (IML), and Sangamon County, IL websites; IML’s Draft Ordinance “Implementing a Non-Home Rule Municipal Retailers’ Occupation Tax and a Non-home Rule Municipal Service Occupa-tion Tax”; Municipal Codes 65 ILCS 5/8-11-1.3- Non-home Rule Municipal Retailers’ Occupation Tax, 65 ILCS 5/8-11-1.4- Non-home Rule Municipal Service Occupation Tax; IML’s “Leveling the Playing Field for Illinois Retail Act” fact sheet, and IML’s “Non-home Rule Local Sales Tax” fact sheet. If you have further questions and/or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your Alderperson or to Mayor Bangert.