Online shopping is hurting small towns throughout northern Illinois. One of the significant problems is that it’s causing budget issues for cash-strapped towns, school districts, and county governments.
Because products are being bought online, our area loses sales-tax revenue. This may mean that local residents are asked more often to approve tax increases. The tax-deficit hole has to be filled some how.
Let me speak about the city of Sterling, part of the Sterling-Rock Falls-Dixon shopping region. Sterling’s retail sector has been hit pretty hard in the past few years. I believe online shopping is a significant culprit for the slide in tax revenue.
Super Kmart closed, Staples closed, Kidder Music closed, Payless Shoe Source is closing, and the Sterling JC Penny store is about to close its doors. All of these retailers provided sales tax revenue to the city budget as well as hundreds of jobs. The city and Whiteside County are the economic victims.
So, while people believe they are saving money buying online – and, in many case, sales tax-free – they’re actually putting into motion the need for their other taxes to be raised in the future.
Online shopping is really bad for communities in northern Illinois – especially smaller cities and towns. So the next time you decide to make an online purchase, remember you’re taking tax revenue away from the local area. And when a retailer closes, jobs also are taken away.
I’m Phillip LeFevre, and that’s my perspective.
