2002 Articles

The 10 most frequent issues that arise in state and local taxation and their options By Julie-April Montgomery May 2002 Whether you are a newcomer or seasoned practitioner, there are recurring common issues you will regularly encounter in your practice of state and local taxation.

2002 legislation—summary By Louise Calvert October 2002 New laws of interest to state and local taxation practitioners.

Appealing real estate tax assessments in TIF districts By Timothy E. Moran April 2002 Since the passage of the first tax increment financing ("TIF") statute in 1977, this urban renewal device has been utilized with growing popularity throughout Illinois, with more than 700 TIF's having been created according to figures published by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs.

Back taxes—omitted property By Jacob Marc Steinfink September 2002 Property owner #1 buys property A from the County of Cook in July 1998, and does not notify the Assessor.

A busy time for the State and Local Taxation Section Council February 2002 With the reconvening of the General Assembly on January 9, 2002 our section council has once again begun the task of reviewing numerous pieces of newly introduced legislation.

Chair’s Column October 2002 This is the fourth edition of Tax Trends for the 2002-2003 bar year.

Chair’s column September 2002 "Demography is destiny," says Harold Hodgkinson, the director of the Center for Demographic Policy at the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington since 1987.

Computer-stored data acquired from real estate services: Should the Property Tax Appeal Board allow it into the record? By Christopher B. Kaczynski December 2002 The issue presented by this article is not a factual issue, but an issue of law concerning the evidentiary rules of the Property Tax Appeal Board, the rules of evidence in Illinois, and the admission of computer-stored data acquired from real estate services for the purpose of providing evidence of sales of comparable property.

Cook County class wars: taxpayers win a battle at PTAB—war continues on two fronts By Donald T. Rubin April 2002 Several recent decisions of the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board ("PTAB"), namely, In the Matter of Konrad Ostalowski1, In the Matter of Park National Bank Trust #101562, and In the Matter of Southwest Management Company3, have sought to address the meaning and intent of Article IX section 4, of the Illinois Constitution, entitled Real Property Taxation.

Don’t expect a refund if you pay an unconstitutional tax By Stanley R. Kaminski October 2002 In two recent Illinois appellate court decisions, one in the Fourth District and one in the First District, the Illinois appellate court appears to have set up a catch-22 for Illinois business taxpayers when it comes to refunds on unconstitutional taxes.

From the co-editor By Mary Ann Connelly December 2002 The year 2002 is a year of historic changes both nationally and locally. Change is certain in Illinois as a result of the "Democratic sweep."

From the co-editor By Mary Ann Connelly August 2002 As the anniversary of September 11th approaches, I cannot help but think that when we and our clients complain about higher tax bills, we should pause for a moment and think about the freedom and safety that is provided by the revenue generated from those taxes.

Growth & tax burden go hand-in-hand* By Jim Nowlan & Steve Sandstrom August 2002 Illinois property tax statistics from 1991 to 1999 suggest the obvious: growth and tax burden are correlated.

Illinois Department Of Revenue Practitioners’ Questions and Answers Chicago meeting—October 29, 2001 Springfield meeting—October 31, 2001 March 2002 The burden of proof taxpayers have to overcome when they seek court review of the Department's administrative decisions involving fact questions has always been a substantial disincentive for taxpayers to use the administrative process.

Illinois transferee tax liability By John B. Truskowski December 2002 Illinois has three statutes that directly govern transferee liability for taxes when a purchaser buys assets from another party.

Legislation By John Locallo July 2002 (The following bills were discussed by the council at our May 10, 2002 meeting)

Legislation April 2002

Meet the county division judges By Katherine A. Amari November 2002 Judge Michael Murphy graduated at the top of his class from The John Marshall Law School in 1971. Judge Murphy began his legal career at the Illinois Attorney General's Office where he headed the Civil Rights Division.

Notes from the co-editors By Mary Ann Connelly November 2002 This newsletter contains an article entitled "Real Estate Tax Relief for Not-For-Profit Corporations," which informs the practitioner how to file a successful tax complaint to reduce the assessment based on a not-for-profit corporation class change.

REAL estate tax relief for not-for-profit corporations By Mary Nicolau November 2002 Cook County offers a special classification for real estate tax assessment for properties owned by not-for-profit corporations.

Recent appellate court decisions November 2002 The following cases are available on our Web site.

Recent case summary By Louise Calvert February 2002 The First District Appellate Court held that the plaintiff, Schawk, Inc., was not engaged in manufacturing and thus was not entitled to the investment tax credit pursuant to section 201(e) of the Illinois Income Tax Act. Schawk, a digital imaging prepress service provider, produces and sells color separated film used by its customers to print packaging materials for consumer products.

Recent court decision By Timothy E. Moran October 2002 On August 20, 2002 the Appellate Court ruled that the Illinois Property Tax Appeal Board (PTAB) cannot apply the median levels of assessment as determined by sales-ratio studies of the Illinois Department of Revenue (DOR) to commercial, industrial and vacant property in Cook County, and must instead utilize the provisions of the Cook County Real Property Assessment Classification Ordinance.

Recent court decisions By Stanley R. Kaminski September 2002 In a not-so-surprising decision, the appellate court in U.S.G. affirmed the trial court in holding that the Chicago "litter tax" violated the Uniformity Clause of the Illinois Constitution.

Recent developments in Illinois abandoned property By Stan Cichowski June 2002 Several important changes have recently been made to the content and administration of the unclaimed property laws in Illinois.

Recent Illinois unitary income tax cases By John B. Truskowski February 2002 Illinois imposes its income tax on a unitary basis. This means that all members of a unitary business group are treated as one taxpayer, and must file a combined return. 35 ILCS §§ 5/304(e0 and 5/502(e).

Responsible person liability under state tax law By Stanley R. Kaminski February 2002 Responsible person liability is derived from the nonpayment of taxes owed by a corporation, or in some instances, a partnership or limited liability company (LLC).

A review of the 20th annual conference of the National Conference of State Tax Judges By Alexander P. White July 2002 The 20th Annual State and Local Taxation conference of the National Conference of State Tax Judges (NCSTJ) convened on Friday, March 15, 2002, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Software savings: businesses can reap substantial tax savings from the proper structuring of their software purchases By Stanley R. Kaminski February 2002 Virtually every state imposes a tax on the sale, lease or license of software (i.e., normally non-customized software) under their respective sales/use taxes.

State and Local Taxation Section Council minutes June 2002 Vice Chair James W. Chipman convened the meeting of the SALT Section Council at 12:15 P.M.