Illinois
Sales Tax Holidays: An Ineffective Alternative to Real Sales Tax Reform
August 5, 2014 • By Meg Wiehe
Sales taxes are an important revenue source, comprising close to half of all state revenues in 2013. But sales taxes are also inherently regressive because the lower a family's income, the more of its income the family must spend on things subject to the tax.
Voice for Illinois for Children: Congress Must Act to Stop Corporate Inversions
July 30, 2014
A number of high-profile U.S. corporations have, or are reportedly considering, corporate “inversions,” where they move their “headquarters” overseas to avoid paying U.S. corporate income taxes. Unless Congress acts, federal and state governments are set to lose, at minimum, tens of billions in revenue to support urgent priorities such as schools, roads and bridges, and […]
For much of the last century, estate and inheritance taxes have played an important role in helping states to adequately fund public services in a way that improves the progressivity of state tax systems. While many of the taxes levied by state and local governments fall most heavily on low-income families, only the very wealthy pay estate and inheritance taxes. Recent changes in the federal estate tax, however, culminating in the "fiscal cliff " deal of early 2013, have forced states to reevaluate the structure of their estate and inheritance taxes. Unfortunately, the trend of late has tended toward weakening…
The gasoline tax is the single largest source of funding for transportation infrastructure in the United States, but the tax is on an unsustainable course. Sluggish gas tax revenue growth has put strain on transportation budgets at the federal and state levels, and has led to countless debates around the country about how best to pay for America's infrastructure.
Detroit Free Press: Why Michiganders Pay Among the Highest Gas Tax to Drive on Crummy Roads
May 23, 2014
By Paul Egan, May 23, 2014 High fuel taxes and low spending on roads. It’s a nasty combination, but Michigan motorists can rightfully complain they pay some of the highest fuel taxes to drive on some of the lousiest roads. According to national data, Michigan has the sixth-highest state taxes on gasoline but one of […]
Voices for Illinois Children: Double the EITC to Make Illinois Taxes Fairer (Among Other Great Things)
May 22, 2014
The more money you make in Illinois, the lower share of it you pay in state and local taxes. If that sounds unfair, that’s because it is. In fact, low- and middle-income workers pay, on average, two to three times the percentage of their income in state and local taxes that the wealthiest Illinoisans pay. […]
CorpWatch: Caterpillar Uses Swiss Subsidiary to Avoid Billions in Taxes
April 21, 2014
(Original Post) by Rozali Telbis, CorpWatch Blog April 15th, 2014 Caterpillar equipment. Photo: Kelly Michals. Used under Creative Commons license. Caterpillar – one of the world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment – used a subsidiary in Switzerland to avoid paying $2.4 billion in taxes over a period of 13 years, according to a […]
Voice for Illinois for Children: Improving Tax Fairness Through Income Tax Reform
April 15, 2014
When adding up the effect of all state and local taxes, Illinois asks middle- and low-income households to pay a percentage of their income that is two to three times higher than the highest-income households pay. It doesn’t have to be this way. We can all pay our fair share to make sure Illinois has […]
Chicago Now: Pope Francis and a moral argument for immigration reform
April 14, 2014
(Original Post) By Teresa Puente, Sunday at 8:38 pm President Obama has failed to persuade the Republican controlled U.S. House of Representatives to pass immigration reform, but if anybody can make a moral argument it is Pope Francis. These two men who broke barriers, the first Latin American pope and the first African- American president, […]
The Chicago Tribune: Four reasons why Mayor Emmanuel shouldn’t reject a city tax
April 11, 2014
(Original post) By Eric Zorn, April 11, 2014 I reject … the idea of a city income tax. I think that’s not the right way to go… Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, responding Wednesday to questions about how the city will shore up its sagging pension funds I reject the idea, too, just as I reject […]
Accounting Today: Big Corporations Dodge Billions in State Taxes
March 21, 2014
(Original Post) WASHINGTON, D.C. (MARCH 21, 2014) BY MICHAEL COHN Some of the largest and most profitable Fortune 500 companies are paying little or nothing in state income taxes, according to a new study. The study, by the advocacy groups Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, examined 269 Fortune […]
Voices for Illinois Children: Profitable Companies in Illinois Not Paying Their Fair Share of State Income Taxes
March 20, 2014
Over the past five years, many profitable Fortune 500 corporations, including several based in Illinois, paid little or no state income taxes to any of the states in which they do business thanks to copious loopholes, lavish giveaways, and crafty accounting. That’s the conclusion of a new report, released by Citizens for Tax Justice and […]
Public News Service: Report Highlights Illinois Companies Dodging State Taxes
March 20, 2014
(Original Post) March 20, 2014 SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois may have the fourth highest corporate tax in the nation, but it turns out that not all businesses are actually paying it. Several Illinois-based companies are on a list of profitable Fortune 500 companies that paid zero state income tax in at least one year from […]
Voices for Illinois Children: New FPC report — tax cuts won’t improve the economy or create jobs
March 12, 2014
Allowing current state income tax rates to expire will cause a revenue collapse that would threaten Illinois’ economic recovery, curtail the ability to support vital investments, and create more uncertainty over how the state will meet its many obligations, a new FPC report released today finds. Read the Full Report
Buenos Aires Herald: The US – the poorest rich country on earth
March 10, 2014
(Original Post) By Gabriela Esquivada For The Herald in US The United States is often referred to as the “land of opportunity.” But an increasing number of US citizens are feeling the pinch, struggling to makes ends meet as inequality in the country rises. From New York, Gabriela Esquivada looks at how the richest nation […]
Fiscal Policy Center: Profitable companies get free pass on federal income tax
February 27, 2014
There’s new evidence that many of the country’s biggest companies are getting a free pass on taxes, including several businesses headquartered here in Illinois. In fact, many of these profitable companies actually received money from the federal government. Read the Full Report
The Garden Island: Licensed to drive
February 3, 2014
(Original Post) Bill would allow undocumented residents to acquire driver’s license Posted: Monday, February 3, 2014 2:00 am Tom LaVenture – The Garden Island LIHUE — Proposed legislation would amend state requirements to allow undocumented residents to qualify for a driver’s license in the interest of public safety, identification and insurance coverage. The “Safe and […]
Open Sky Policy Institute: Typical family pays less tax in Nebraska than in most similar states
January 24, 2014
Middle-income Nebraskans pay relatively low taxes compared to their counterparts in eight nearby states with similar economies and tax structures. A family earning the median family income in Nebraska ($63,442) would pay less in taxes than a similar family in all but two of these states – Colorado and Kansas. (Table 1) The other comparable […]
Southtown Star: Tax breaks for businesses too costly
January 17, 2014
(Original Post) January 15, 2014 8:20PM Updated: January 16, 2014 7:28AM Those who think that offering tax incentives to corporations to keep them in our state should look at a study by the non-profit Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. The study concludes that tax incentives not only are too costly for states but provide […]
Los Angeles Times: Corporations lead taxpayers to the shearing
January 6, 2014
(Original Post) By Michael Hiltzik January 5, 2014, 5:00 a.m. Here’s a business practice likely to keep booming in 2014: corporate extortion. We don’t mean extortion of corporations, as is practiced by Somali pirates or entrepreneurial Russians. We mean extortion by corporations. In this field the victims are taxpayers, and what makes it a beautiful […]
Mint Press News: Expiring Tax Deductions Prompt Talk Of Reform For State, Federal Tax System
December 30, 2013
(Original Post) Without congressional action to extend state and federal tax deductions, 11 million taxpayers will lose $17 billion. By Jo Erickson | December 26, 2013 As the year ends nine federal tax provisions will expire, causing some to pay more in state and local sales taxes. Most critics agree that state and federal taxes […]
Chicago Tribune: ADM’s decision delivers a lesson in corporate strategy
December 19, 2013
Now we have proof that Chicago doesn’t need gimmicks to win a major corporation Phil Rosenthal December 19, 2013 Any out-of-towner can fall in love with Chicago when it’s warm. Commit in December to making it your home and, beyond affection, it’s likely you’ve simply decided this is somewhere you need to be. Three […]
Chicago Tribune: Boeing makes sky-high request for states wanting 777X plant
December 19, 2013
When it comes to corporate incentives, leave it to an aerospace company to test the limits of what will fly. For those hoping to host production of its newest big jet, Chicago-based Boeing has a wish list that even Santa, his reindeer and all his little helpers would be hard-pressed to lift, let alone […]
Financial Times: US states trade tax offers in battle to host Boeing
December 13, 2013
(Original Post) Excerpt States and localities devote an estimated $50bn to tax incentives every year as they jockey for the promise of jobs related to new company operations or the threat of relocation, according to the Washington-based Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) think-tank. Recent examples include Archer Daniels Midland, an agribusiness group, that […]
The Diamondback: Amazon.com facility will close tax loophole
November 5, 2013
(Original Post) Posted: Tuesday, November 5, 2013 1:03 am | Updated: 1:21 am, Tue Nov 5, 2013. With a new Amazon.com facility opening in Baltimore in 2014, online consumers in the state could soon be paying an additional 6 percent sales tax for online purchases. A physical presence in the state means state officials will […]
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