Elgin Mayor David Kaptain may not want be viewed as the Grinch, but he’s certainly doing a good job of playing the part this Christmas.
The Elgin City Council and Kaptain will vote on a city sales tax increase and a 3-percent tax on alcohol this week as a part of the city budget. Residents of Elgin are already hurting after Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law a massive 66-percent increase in the state income tax earlier this year.
For some Elgin residents taxes on alcohol have already been hiked. Elgin is split between Cook and Kane Counties. Cook County has already levied a heavy tax hike on distilled spirits, now those Elgin residents who live in Cook County could be taxed even more for a drink this holiday season.
“While he’s not sweeping to steal all of the presents from the Who’s down in Whoville, what Mayor Kaptain, along with the Elgin City Council are set to do this week is just as out of sync with the Christmas spirit,” said ATR president Grover Norquist. “With just a few shopping days left, Kaptain and company want to raise taxes on Christmas presents and holiday cheer.”
Norquist continued, “Making this move more egregious is the fact that it goes directly against the recommendations of the citizen task force that was appointed to direct Kaptain and council members. Their instructions were simple: cut spending and have the city government live within its means, just as the families and employers of Elgin must do.”