Aug. 19, 2010 at 12:50 p.m.
Filed under:
Criminal charges,
Fraud,
Government,
Litigation,
Taxes
Six Illinois gas station owners have been indicted on charges of pocketing sales taxes customers paid when they fueled up.
The fraud investigation has recovered nearly $13 million in unpaid sales taxes, according to the Illinois attorney general’s office and state department of revenue. The indictments were the first in an ongoing probe of businesses that fail to pay taxes, Atty. Gen. Lisa Madigan said Thursday. More charges against other tax frauds are expected in coming months, she said. Get the full story »
Aug. 16, 2010 at 7:20 p.m.
Filed under:
Taxes
By Clout Street
Taxpayers who owe the state will be able to pay up without facing fines for five weeks this fall. Gov. Pat Quinn quietly signed a measure into law today setting up a grace period that runs from Oct. 1 to Nov. 8. State officials estimate the amnesty could bring in about $250 million for Illinois’ depleted coffers.
The law covers unpaid back taxes from July 2002 to July 2009. If taxpayers fail to make good during the amnesty, interest and penalties will be doubled, according to a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Aug. 9, 2010 at 4:58 p.m.
Filed under:
Taxes,
Updated
By Mary Ellen Podmolik
It’s another dubious honor for Chicago.
Just as Illinois touts its first sales-tax holiday, a new report highlights Chicago as having among the highest retail sales tax rates of the nation’s largest cities. At 9.75 percent once county, mass transit and city taxes are added to the statewide 6.25 percent sales tax, Chicago’s tax rate is equal to that of Los Angeles. Get the full story »
Aug. 5, 2010 at 5:50 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Retail,
Taxes
By Sandra M. Jones
In the wake of the lackluster sales national chain stores posted for July, the Illinois sales tax holiday couldn’t have come at a better time.
Illinois’ first sales tax holiday, which starts Friday, waves the 5 percent state sales tax through Aug. 15, focusing on basic school supplies from backpacks to uniforms. With unemployment high and consumer spending stalling again, retailers are latching onto the deal with bargains in hopes of igniting a spark under increasingly reticent shoppers.
Get the full story »
Aug. 5, 2010 at 3:05 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Taxes
By Associated Press
The Internal Revenue Service said Thursday that it will end its policy of releasing information about back taxes and other debts taxpayers owe in the coming tax season.
The information, called debt indicators, has been included on acknowledgments the IRS sends tax preparers when it receives returns filed electronically. Get the full story »
Aug. 5, 2010 at 2:01 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Taxes
By Associated Press
Back-to-school bargain hunters will want to get their shopping lists ready.
Illinois’ sales-tax holiday starts Friday and continues through Aug. 15 for shoppers who are buying select items. Some Chicago-area retailers plan to open as early as 6 a.m. Friday in honor of the tax holiday.
Shoppers should remember that the sales-tax holiday means they won’t have to pay the 5 percent state sales tax on qualifying school supplies, clothing and shoes. County and city sales taxes remain in effect, and items such as computers and most sports equipment aren’t included.
Aug. 4, 2010 at 8:42 a.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Taxes
By CNN
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is expected Wednesday to back the idea of letting tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans lapse as a step toward getting the nation’s fiscal house in order.
“Borrowing to finance tax cuts for the top 2 percent would be a $700 billion fiscal mistake,“ Geithner is expected to say, according to released excerpts of his prepared remarks before the Center for American Progress in Washington. “It’s not the prescription the economy needs right now, and the country can’t afford it.“ Get the full story »
July 23, 2010 at 3:00 p.m.
Filed under:
Energy,
Taxes
By Julie Wernau
The economic impact of Illinois’ energy industry is three times that of the automotive industry, and pay in those jobs are 50 percent higher than the state’s average, according to a study released this week.
The study — conducted by the Regional Development Institute at Northern Illinois University and commissioned by the Illinois Chamber of Commerce — analyzed the economic impact of energy extraction, production and transmission, job creation, wages and tax revenue in the state. Get the full story »
July 23, 2010 at 6:13 a.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Taxes
By Dow Jones Newswires
The Obama administration will allow tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans to expire on schedule, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday, setting up a clash with Republicans and a small but vocal group of Democrats who want to delay the looming tax increases.
Geithner said the White House would allow taxes on top earners to increase in 2011 as part of an effort to bring down the U.S. budget deficit. He said the White House plans to extend expiring tax cuts for middle- and lower-income Americans, and expects to undertake a broader revision of the tax code next year. Get the full story »
July 20, 2010 at 3:43 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Small business,
Taxes,
Updated
By Reuters
The U.S. government loses $37 billion per year in tax revenues because multinational corporations stash money in overseas tax havens, Democratic Senator Carl Levin and a group of small businesses said in a report Tuesday.
Levin, who for years has pushed for a tough law to fight tax evasion among corporations, has enlisted some small businesses to back his so-far unsuccessful proposal to close loopholes letting companies legally avoid taxes by keeping income abroad. Get the full story »
July 16, 2010 at 11:57 a.m.
Filed under:
Taxes
By Associated Press
Two senators, a Democrat and a Republican, are pushing to revive the expired estate tax at a reduced rate. Democrat Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona hope to attach the new estate tax to a small business lending bill pending in the Senate. Their bill would set the top estate tax rate at 35 percent, with a per-person exemption of $5 million, indexed to inflation.
July 13, 2010 at 2:03 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Taxes
By Reuters
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus Tuesday said he expects the Senate to extend middle-income tax cuts before they expire by the end of the year.
But Baucus said lawmakers were still weighing the details, including tax rates for dividends and families earning more than $250,000 a year. But he added that “clearly we will want to extend the middle income tax cuts at the very least.” Get the full story »
July 12, 2010 at 1:29 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Taxes
By Reuters
A congressional debate about extending Bush-era tax cuts for middle class American families will probably happen later this year, the White House said Monday.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the debate would probably happen in the fall, before the conclusions of a fiscal commission appointed by President Barack Obama on the U.S. deficit challenge, which is due by year-end.
July 8, 2010 at 8:57 a.m.
Filed under:
Chicago executives,
Food,
Taxes
By Associated Press
H&R Block Inc. named Alan M. Bennett as its new president and CEO after its previous chief executive, Russ Smyth, resigned to take another CEO post. The executive shuffle comes as the nation’s largest tax preparer struggles with the growing popularity of do-it-yourself online filing.
The company said Smyth resigned in order to take the CEO job at a privately held Chicago-based company, which it did not name. A longtime McDonald’s Corp. executive, Smyth was chosen for the post two years ago because of his experience in franchise operations and brand building. Get the full story »
July 2, 2010 at 4:42 p.m.
Filed under:
Bank failures,
Banking,
Politics,
Taxes
By Clout Street
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias lost about $2.7 million last year in the collapse of his family’s Broadway Bank, according to tax returns his campaign released Friday.
