Politics & Government
Making Cents: Reduced Sales Tax Hits DuPage County
Darien shoppers may not notice the tax drop on their bottom line Wednesday, but officials say it'll save $36 million a year.
DuPage County shoppers can count on pinching a few extra pennies, thanks to a reduced sales tax rate effective Wednesday.
The county's quarter-cent sales tax decrease stems from its elimination of a fee previously collected by the DuPage Water Commission. The move is in unison with the commission's transition to a self-sustaining utility, according to a DuPage County Board news release distributed Wednesday morning.
"I don't know the last time we've seen any governmental unit actually abolish a tax like we have done," DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin said in a Chicago Tribune report.
Officials project that the drop in sales tax will save local consumers a total of about $36 million per year. Shoppers' new rate comes to 7 cents per dollar.
In other money-saving news, the county's water commission decreased its 2016-2017 water rates by 1 percent on May 1 after paying back $70 million in bonds 18 months early — the plan relieved taxpayers of $10 million in interest, officials said.
Provided photos: DuPage County Board Chairman Dan Cronin and Chairman of the DuPage Water Commission Jim Zay celebrated the June 1 elimination of the commission's quarter-cent sales tax with a penny-shaped cake during the May 24 County Board meeting. Cronin and Zay cut away a quarter of the cake in celebration of the upcoming tax reduction, which will save DuPage County consumers $36 million annually.
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