Rent-to-own professionals doing business in the Land of Lincoln met with lawmakers including key players such as the Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady (R-IL, District 44), House Minority leader Jim Durkin (R-IL, District 82) and Jay Hoffman (D-IL, District 113) during the Illinois Rental/Purchase Dealers Association’s Legislative Day, May 8 in Springfield. This year’s event marks the eighth year that the state association has been meeting with their respective legislators, explaining to them the importance of RTO to Illinois’ economy and the valuable services RTO provides its customers.
Hot topics included the thriving economy in Illinois, the bill introduced earlier this month to legalize recreational marijuana, and the passing of a law that will increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024. IRDA learned that they might be able to share similar ideas with other states where marijuana is legal but have expressed the rise in the minimum wage to be a challenge since the bill has already passed and will affect the state as a whole. The association plans to collaborate as they move forward to work with the impending change.
“The meeting was a great success,” shares Kelly Martin, IRDA President. “We accomplished a lot of meetings in the time we were there and gathered some insights on ways we may be able to interact with the proposed legislation.”
Members of IRDA also had the opportunity to thank sponsors of the Rental Purchase Agreement Occupation and Use Tax Act bill that was signed into law and took effect in January of last year. The law established that rental dealers would no longer pay a use tax on wholesale purchases, which aligns with other states where consumers pay a sales tax on rental payments. It shifts how rental property is taxed, helping to reduce the final taxation and saving RTO dealers money.
What’s next for IRDA? “We are now looking forward to our annual business meeting,” concludes Martin. “Stay tuned for the date and location but expect engaging topics, new vendors, and high attendance of store managers ready to learn!”
