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Motor Fuel Tax Funds
By WILLIAM T. SUNLEY, Engineer of Local Roads and Streets
Illinois Department of Transportation
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Effective August 1, 1989, Public Act 86-16 increased
the motor fuel tax from 13 cents per gallon to 19 cents
per gallon. This tax was imposed in two three-cent
increments, one became effective on August 1, 1989,
and the other on January 1, 1990. Motor fuel tax revenues experienced a significant increase during calendar
year 1990 due to this tax increase. Except for the months
of January and February last year, the motor fuel tax
allotments you received during 1990 included revenues
generated by the full six cent increase. January and
February allotments did not include revenue from the
last three-cent increment because of the two month lag
from the effective date to the actual collection of the
new revenue. We had anticipated that when the full
six-cent increase was collected for twelve consecutive
months, your allotments would increase by approximately 22 percent over 1988 revenues if fuel consumption remained essentially constant. Fuel consumption was only down 0.2% through the first nine months in
spite of high pump prices due to the Persian Gulf crisis.
The figures for the last three months are not yet available but will probably show some decrease.
Gross collections, which included $63, 589, 009.84 of
sales tax revenue, topped the one billion dollar mark for
the first time and were 24.73 percent above calendar
year 1989. Approximately six cents of every dollar you
received during 1990 was a direct result of 1.7 percent
of the total net sales tax deposited in the motor fuel tax
fund each month.
The chart below shows Illinois motor fuel tax revenues that were distributed in calendar year 1990. Municipalities received $20.38 per person, up from $17.96 last
year, Road Districts received $911.00 per mile, up from
$799.22 last year. Counties receive their allotments on
the basis of registered license fees for the previous year.
January 1991 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 11
Each month your motor fuel tax allotment varies
directly with the total monthly motor fuel tax collection
(including the sales tax) which are deposited in the State
Treasury. Should you have questions concerning your motor fuel tax allotment or should you not receive your
monthly allotment by the end of the following month,
please call Frank McCarthy in the Bureau of Local
Roads and Streets in Springfield at (217) 785-5179. •
Page 12 / Illinois Municipal Review / January 1991
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