FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
Brian Costin
President & Founder
Schaumburg Freedom Coalition
(630) 589-9240
bcostin@schaumburgfreedom.com

Schaumburg Sales Tax Rollback Effort Collects 1,250+ Signatures

Schaumburg –At the October 27^th, 2009 Schaumburg Village Board meeting the Schaumburg Freedom Coalition will present to Mayor Al Larson and the Village Trustees over 1,250 signatures from local residents in support of reducing Schaumburg’s home rule sales taxes which contribute to a 12% total bar and restaurant tax—the highest tax of its kind in the United States—and its 10% retail tax, which is second only to the City of Chicago.

The advisory petition seeks to reduce Schaumburg’s home rule sales tax 1 percentage point, and the home rule food & beverage tax 2 percentage points, resulting in a 9% retail sales tax for both.

Brian Costin, president of the local taxpayer group the Schaumburg Freedom Coalition, issued the following statement today on the organization’s efforts to roll back Schaumburg’s sales taxes.

“Schaumburg’s sales taxes are out of control. The Village of Schaumburg now owns a 12% total bar and restaurant tax—giving Schaumburg patrons the highest taxes of its kind in the history of the United States! Their 10% retail tax is second only to the City of Chicago.

“Instead of driving economic activity away from Schaumburg with record high sales taxes, we need to show leadership and make Schaumburg attractive to retailers, restaurants, and shoppers by significantly lowering sales taxes. Schaumburg can be the first community to reverse the suicidal trend of spiraling out-of-control fees and taxes in Cook County and Illinois, and serve as a model for other communities.

“This past April, 91% of Schaumburg voters supported a non-binding referendum to reduce sales taxes in Cook County a full percentage point. Only 7 days later, the Village Board and Mayor Larson enacted one of the largest tax increases in Village history with the creation of a new $120 Million Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district to be paid by increasing property taxes. The Village Board and Mayor Larson are completely out of touch with the views of Schaumburg residents and businesses when it comes to taxes.

“Schaumburg citizens want tax relief, not tax hikes. In the process of collecting the signatures, many Schaumburg residents said they prefer to shop elsewhere, especially for bigger purchases, because local sales taxes are too high. Many end up having to travel to DuPage, Lake or Kane counties to avoid record-high sales taxes. It’s unfortunate that Schaumburg citizens can’t support their own local businesses because of outrageously high sales taxes.

“The community of Schaumburg has responded to this taxation abuse by signing the Schaumburg Freedom Coalition’s advisory petition to reduce local sales taxes. Over 1,250 signatures to roll back Schaumburg’s home rule sales taxes, including over 600 from Schaumburg residents, have been collected.

“The purpose of the advisory petition is to persuade Mayor Larson and the Village Trustees to reduce Schaumburg’s Home Rule Sales Tax by 1 percent point and its Home Rule Sales Tax on prepared food & beverages by 2 percentage points, resulting in a 9% sales tax rate for most retail transactions. This will inject an additional $30 million a year into Schaumburg’s beleaguered economy, whose unemployment rate reached 9.6% in June.

“Prior to 1989, the Village of Schaumburg assessed no local sales taxes of any kind. Since then it has raised retail sales tax twice, created two new TIF districts, raised the food & beverage, hotel, amusement, and telecommunications taxes, along with a litany of other smaller taxes and fees on area residents and businesses.

“Since Mayor Al Larson was elected in 1987, Village of Schaumburg expenditures have exploded from just under $25 million to over $200 million in 2009. Even after adjusting for population growth and inflation, the size of government has more than tripled in just 22 years. Schaumburg has a spending problem, not a revenue problem.

“The Schaumburg Freedom Coalition has no shortage of ideas on how the Village of Schaumburg can cut government costs and eliminate $30 million in Village spending, without affecting the quality of core government services.

“The Schaumburg Renaissance Hotel & Convention Center cost Schaumburg taxpayers $15.7 Million in 2008 alone, which dwarfs even the worst case scenarios for the failed Sears Centre in neighboring Hoffman Estates.  The taxpayers can avoid over $500 million in principal and interest payments over the next 32 years if the Village gets out of the entertainment & hospitality industry, in which it has no business being in the first place, and sells the property. It can also sell the Schaumburg Airport and Alexian Field and save millions more every year.

“Salaries are getting out of control in the Village. A recent Freedom of Information Act Request by the Schaumburg Freedom Coalition revealed that the number of Village employees making over $100,000 per year (not including health & retirement benefits) has grown from 30 in 2005 to 110 in 2008. Initially, when I confronted the Mayor, Village Board Meeting not a single Village official was even aware of the dramatic increase.

“Mayor Larson and the Village Board may say that our high sales taxes are the fault of Cook County and say citizens should focus our efforts there, but we shouldn’t forget that Mayor Larson is a member of the Pace Board of Directors and he lobbied hard in 2007 and 2008 for increased transit funding. That funding came in the form of a historic sales tax increase for Cook County and Schaumburg residents last summer that put us over the top and gave us the highest sales taxes in the history of the nation.

“We need leadership on the local level to reduce some of the highest sales tax in history of the nation before these taxes damage our economy any further. If Mayor Larson and the Village Board don’t act to reduce taxes now, the Schaumburg Freedom Coalition will seek to place a binding referendum on the ballot for the next municipal election in 2011.”

For further information about the Schaumburg Freedom Coalition or the sales tax rollback effort, visit the SFC website at http://www.schaumburgfreedom.comor contact Brian Costin at 630-589-9240 or BCostin@SchaumburgFreedom.com.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

Related posts:

1. Schaumburg Hikes Taxes on Local Businesses, Again! Considering the economic recession and the increased taxes the Village...