Aircraft repair companies on the state were told that they would have to retroactively collect taxes by a veto from Governor J.B. Pritzker. Pritzker vetoed a bill on Monday that would have provided a sales tax exemption on the sale of private jet parts and components retroactive to 2010 and continuing through 2024. The bill cleared both the House and Senate almost unanimously.
Glen Carbon Democrat Rachelle Crowe, who was a lead sponsor on the bill in the Senate, argued that the tax exemption had been on the books for years but was allowed to lapse with almost nobody noticing. As a result, she said, aircraft repair companies continued not charging their customers for the tax, and she said it would be “absurd” to ask those companies to go back and collect it from their customers now. Prtizker countered the argument by saying those companies now owe $50 million in uncollected taxes, interest, and penalties. He said the bill would not only forgive that debt but would provide another $10 million in tax breaks in each of the next five years.
Pritzker said in his veto address of the bill that it was poor fiscal policy for the state to allow the forgiveness to happen while the state currently faces debt associated with unpaid bills. The bill’s veto is expected to be passed by override once the General Assembly reconvenes in January. Many proponents of the bill say it keeps jobs in the state and doesn’t force smaller aircraft maintenance businesses to close their doors.