Liquor tax would spare Joe Six-Pack

SPRINGFIELD - Joe Six-Pack would be spared a tax increase in plans being assembled at the Capitol, but wine and liquor connoisseurs would pay more to help finance billions of dollars worth of road, bridge and school construction.

"I wouldn't hike it on beer, I don't think that's the way to go," Gov. Pat Quinn told reporters Thursday. "Wine and spirits are a little bit on the higher end."

The exact tax increase for wine and liquor hasn't been finalized yet, but some versions call for adding 13 cents on a bottle of wine and 80 cents on a bottle of booze.

Taxes on wine, beer and liquor were last raised in 1999 to help finance then-Gov. George Ryan's $12 billion state construction program. Quinn and legislative leaders have been trying to find agreement on how to pay for nearly $25 billion worth of construction in the state.

"I think we have a funding plan that I think is sound," Quinn said.

Aside from alcohol, the cost of a driver's license would double to $20 - the same as a state ID card - and other vehicle fees would likely be increased. Vehicle fees were also raised in 1999 to help pay for that construction spending program.

Additional funding could come from charging the full sales tax on soaps, shampoos and other hygiene products that are now taxed at 1 percent because they're touted as providing relief. For instance Herbal Essences currently is taxed at the full sales tax rate while Head & Shoulders gets the low rate because, even though they are both shampoo, one claims to have medicinal qualities.

The move could bring in $2 million annually.

There'd be a similar tax change for Lipton bottled tea or Starbucks double shots. They're currently classified as food and taxed at 1 percent while soft drinks are hit with the full 6.25 percent state sales tax. This change could bring in $12 million annually.

Quinn initially called for using those tax changes to help wipe out the nearly $12 billion state deficit. On Thursday, he said they could be used instead to finance construction.

Quinn also softened his anti-gambling stance, saying he'd consider legalizing video poker at bars if lawmakers muster the votes to send it to him.

"I'm open-minded to that," Quinn said.

That proposal recently cleared a House committee even as House Speaker Michael Madigan, a Chicago Democrat, has said he's not interested in debating gambling expansion this year. Currently, the video poker plan is touted as providing money for school construction, including several suburban districts such as Winfield Elementary Dist. 34 that have been waiting years for promised state assistance that never came because the fund ran out of cash.

In his budget speech earlier this year, Quinn said he was against gambling expansion. And his predecessor - Rod Blagojevich - once called video poker the "crack cocaine" of gambling.

But lawmakers have become increasingly desperate as both business and labor groups pressure them to find a way to finance construction that the unions want because of the jobs and businesses want because of the economic development prospects.