Watseka: Unit 9 rejects tax break for new restaurants

Good! I'm glad to see that they will have to pay their fair share just like all the other new businesses. Also glad to see some upper tier fast food places being considered for Watseka. Another blessing brought by the expansion of our Walmart! Watseka may never regain its past glory,but it'll be a better place soon.

If you plan on eating there you will pay their fare share because the prices will be higher. Building anything new in Iroquois county is a bad mistake because the taxes are so high. My friend built a garage and his taxes went up $1500 a year. He had less than $10,000 in the garage.

Look what they did to the sales tax... 6.25% in Kankakee where there are LOTS of services and businesses and 8.5% in Watseka where there is NOTHING!!! I will be doing ALL of my shopping in Kankakee from now on!!!!

Go ahead and waste gas by driving to K3 to "save" a few pennies....nobody believes you.

If they do build these new places they should buy the materials in Kankakee because that extra .075% in sales tax is a big deal on that much material. Delivery would be free and the savings could easily be $1,000.

Really...you think that they buy the building materials for national chain resaurants at Menard's or Lowe's? Hahaha...

Watseka Resident wrote:

Go ahead and waste gas by driving to K3 to "save" a few pennies....nobody believes you.

I think you'd better take a look at your receipt next time you shop. There are 2 sales taxes listed. Add them together and it comes out that you are paying 8.5%.

Ron wrote:

If they do build these new places they should buy the materials in Kankakee because that extra .075% in sales tax is a big deal on that much material. Delivery would be free and the savings could easily be $1,000.

I don't know where you went to school, but where I went, 8.5 - 6.25 = 2.25 not .75...

Sales tax in Watseka is 7% on non-food items. The materials will be coming from Watseka and a local contract will be building the buildings.

Watseka Resident wrote:

Really...you think that they buy the building materials for national chain resaurants at Menard's or Lowe's? Hahaha...

So where would they buy them?

National chains usually buy their buildings from large scale commercial building companies. They have crews that travel the country building them.it will be pre fabricated at a factory and trucked to the site. Didn't u see the new KFC getting built? Not one local worker helped build that. The crew was living in the Super 8..

Watseka Resident wrote:

National chains usually buy their buildings from large scale commercial building companies. They have crews that travel the country building them.it will be pre fabricated at a factory and trucked to the site. Didn't u see the new KFC getting built? Not one local worker helped build that. The crew was living in the Super 8..

Local workers helps keep business local. How many other businesses in town got outside workers to build it?

Did the county kill the project. Did they decide not to build because the taxes where to high?

Construction Guy wrote:

<quoted text>
Local workers helps keep business local. How many other businesses in town got outside workers to build it?

when the old Wal-Mart/eagle plaza was built ut got picketed by the local unions. They used out of town crews to build it...just like they used out of town crews to build the new kfc and walMart .

the taxes wont make a difference between a restaurant opening and not opening. if their profit margin depended entirely on having .5% lowertaxes, then they wouldn't have stayed open long. its just typical lies to attempt to squeeze out a bit more profit.

also, IL in general is a bad place to open a business.. Watseka/Iroquois couny is bad because we have a low population density.

Watseka always talk about finding business's to move into the area, an how that is so important to the local economy. Companies want some type of backng from our local authorities to show their support. I really believe that these investors should be given some sort of fiancial relief in the form of some type of tax brake.

The real estate taxes without any break would be about $60,000. That would mean over a $1,000 per week just in real estate taxes I don't think they would have enough sales to pay all the taxes. I think they know that and decided not to build.