Business & Tech
Business Advocates Urge Tax Deferral In Letter To Governor
The Small Business Advocacy Council and other small business advocates urged Gov. J.B. Pritzker to grant an extended sales tax deferral.
CHICAGO, IL — The Small Business Advocacy Center, and a number of Chicago-area chambers of commerce, requested in an open letter to Gov. J.B. Pritzker dated Thursday that small businesses with less than $3 million in annual sales and at least a 25% decline in revenue since March 1 have their sales tax payments deferred until the state's economy is back in full swing. The governor already announced the temporary deferral of sales tax payments for thousands of bars and restaurants in March but the business advocates wrote that this may not be enough to prevent the closure of small business impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
"The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a devastating impact on individuals, families and communities," the letter read. "The pandemic is also causing tremendous financial hardship on small and local businesses. Unless immediate action is taken, small business may be forced to permanently close."
Emergency funding options have been available, including $14 million in hospitality grants offered by the Illinois Department of Employment Security, but attempting to secure these funds has been an arduous process for business, according to the letter.
"Expanding the deferral of sales tax payments is a tool which can help local business impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic," the letter read. "Please support small business and help save Illinois jobs."
In addition to the Small Business Advocacy Center, the letter was signed by the Lakeview, Lakeview East, Lincoln Park, Roscoe Village, Logan Square, Skokie, LGBT, Chicago Southland, Orland Park area, Andersonville, Elk Grove and Itasca chambers of commerce. The Institute for Justic Clinic on Entrepreneurship and GOA Regional Business Association also signed.
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