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Resident urges caution on telecommunication and streaming taxes, citing legal risks
Summary
A public commenter told the Campton Hills board she opposed adopting a municipal telecommunications or streaming tax now, citing legal opinions and the village’s limited home‑rule authority.
During public comment at the April 29 Campton Hills village board meeting, resident Patsy Smith urged trustees to delay or avoid adopting a municipal telecommunications tax or a video-streaming tax until legal risks are fully understood.
Smith told the trustees she had reviewed materials from the Illinois Municipal League and a law-firm opinion that, in her view, identified “two fatal flaws” in the IML model municipal streaming tax ordinance: a potential conflict with federal protections for electronic commerce and an impermissible extraterritorial tax under the Illinois Constitution’s home‑rule article. She urged the board not to “do more case law for the state of Illinois” because defending litigation could exhaust any small revenue gain.
Smith also referenced “Dillon’s Rule,” cautioning trustees that non‑home-rule municipalities have only the powers the state expressly grants. In her remarks she estimated that a 6 percent local telecommunications tax, if adopted at the top rate, would add roughly $474 per year to her family’s bills and encouraged trustees to verify whether other non‑home‑rule municipalities had successfully defended similar ordinances before proceeding.
The board did not take action on telecommunications or streaming taxes at the meeting; staff and trustees continued to focus on the annual budget item.
