2006 Articles

2006 Illinois Income and Sales Tax legislative update and veto session tax projections By David J. Kupiec & J. Thomas Johnson November 2006 Provided below is a brief summary of certain Illinois income and sales tax legislation enacted during the 2006 legislative session:

The 26th Annual State & Local Taxation Conference By Alexander P. White October 2006 The 26th Annual State and Local Taxation Conference of the National Conference of State Tax Judges took place in Indianapolis, IN on Thursday, September 28 through Saturday, September 30, 2006.

Amusements can be a taxing part of the game of life By Julie-April Montgomery July 2006 The most common Illinois tax on entertainment is an amusement tax.

Does your foreign, international or interstate business have a hidden and costly state tax liability? By Stanley R. Kaminski March 2006 Contrary to common belief, a foreign, international or interstate business, including a foreign subsidiary of a domestic company, may have a state tax liability even if such business does not have an office in a state, but it has an employee, agent or third-party representative traveling into a state.

Formal notice of deficiency not required to commence protest monies action By Fred Marcus & Jennifer Zimmerman September 2006 In National City Corporation v. Department of Revenue, 1-04-2907 (Ill. App. Ct., May 22, 2006),the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, has held that the “ripeness” doctrine does not preclude a taxpayer from filing a protest monies action after it received a notice of proposed deficiency for income taxes from the Illinois Department of Revenue (“Department”), but before it received a notice of deficiency that would trigger its right to administrative protest and review.

Gross revenue tax: Will Illinois be next? By Stanley R. Kaminski May 2006 Currently, Texas has a Franchise Tax with an Income Tax component somewhat similar to the Illinois Income Tax. Essentially, under this Income Tax component, Texas only taxes the net income of a corporation that is apportioned to Texas.

The Historic Residence Assessment Freeze Law (Residential Properties) By Mary Ann Connelly May 2006 The Historic Residence Assessment Freeze Law, formerly known as the Property Tax Assessment Freeze Program entitles the owner of a landmark residence to real estate tax relief upon completion of a rehabilitation project.

Illinois legislation corrects income tax bonus Depreciation Modifications By David J. Kupiec & Natalie M. Martin June 2006 On May 19, 2006, Governor Blagojevich signed House Bill 2706 (Public Act 94-0776) - a Bill put forth as a Department of Revenue technical correction to primarily address various issues concerning the Illinois income tax bonus depreciation provisions.

A note from the Chair By Rodney C. Slutzky June 2006 It’s hard to believe that my year serving as Chairman of the State and Local Taxation Section Council has passed so quickly.

A note from the co-editor By Stanley R. Kaminski September 2006 In this issue, Fred Marcus and Jennifer Zimmerman review the recent National City Corporation case which involved the timing of when a Protest Monies Act case can be brought in a tax action against the Illinois Department of Revenue.

A note from the co-editor By Mary Ann Connelly August 2006 This edition of Tax Trends features an article by Co-Editor Stanley R. Kaminski entitled “Substantial Tax Penalties Can Be Avoided by the Proper Tax Reporting of Damage Awards and Settlements.”

A note from the co-editor By Mary Ann Connelly May 2006 A special word of thanks to our guest speakers and to all of you who attended the State and Local Taxation’s Seminar on May 19, 2006.

A note from the co-editor By Mary Ann Connelly April 2006 This newsletter features the ISBA Web site. I am amazed at the amount of practitioners who do not utilize this valuable source of information.

A note from the co-editor By Mary Ann Connelly March 2006 This edition of Tax Trends features an article entitled “The Successor Liability Aspects if a Tax Bulk Sales in Illinois” written by Associate Editor, Julie-April Montgomery.

A note from the co-editor By Mary Ann Connelly February 2006 This edition of Tax Trends features an article entitled “What’s In a Word? The Right to Avoid Paying Taxes on Someone Else’s Property is Abolished for Administrative Convenience” written by Associate Editor Mark Davis. Mr. Davis discusses the impact on taxpayers when the legislature changes one word.

A note from the co-editor By Mary Ann Connelly January 2006 This edition of Tax Trends features four recent court decisions reviewed by Timothy E. Moran, Section Council Member of State & local Taxation Section Council.

A note from the Editor By Mary Ann Connelly December 2006 A message from the editor.

A note from the Editor By Mary Ann Connelly November 2006 This edition of Tax Trends features 2006 Illinois income and Sales Tax Legislative update and Veto Session Tax Projections by David J. Kupiec, an Associate Editor of the State and Local Taxation Section Council, J. Thomas Johnson, President of Taxpayer Federation of Illinois and Natalie Martin, from the Exelon Business Services Company.

A note from the Editor By Mary Ann Connelly October 2006 This edition of Tax Trends features a brief synopsis of recent real estate tax cases by Timothy Moran, Section Council Member.

Recent court decisions By Mary Ann Connelly November 2006 Allegis Realty Investors v. Novak, County Treasurer and ex-officio County Collector of DuPage County, Illinois Supreme Court, (Docket Nos. 100682 and 100730), opinion filed September 21, 2006. Petitioners were taxpayers who filed tax objection cases. One of the taxes they objected to was a “hard-road tax.”

Recent decisions in Real Estate Tax cases By Timothy E. Moran October 2006 Property owner filed bankruptcy petition which, under Section 108(b) of the Bankruptcy Code (11 U.S.C. Sec. 108 (b)) extended the period for redeeming the sold taxes on his home from January 5, 2001 to March 6, 2001 on which date owner made redemption.

Recent decisions in real estate tax cases By Timothy E. Moran January 2006 In re Application of the County Treasurer (H&H Investments v. Green Tree Servicing, LLC), Appellate Court, Third District, Docket No. 3-04-0777, 2005 WL 2841145, October 28, 2005.

State tax advisory August 2006 Using a drop shipper can be quite taxing according to the Tennessee Appellate Court which recently upheld an assessment of uncollected sales use tax from a non-Tennessee business (ARCO) that utilized Tennessee manufacturers to manufacture and ship products to Tennessee customers. The products were single story metal buildings.

Substantial tax penalties can be avoided by the proper tax reporting of damage awards and settlements By Stanley R. Kaminski August 2006 Nowadays, every mid- to large-size business and government agency has encountered the problem of paying out damage awards or settlements to third parties as a result of claimed contract violations, torts and other actions, as well as amounts paid to their employees for alleged labor law, civil rights, and other violations.

The successor liability aspects of a tax bulk sales in Illinois By Julie-April Montgomery March 2006 It is often said that when a new owner of a business comes along it prefers to buy the assets of the business so as to avoid liability for the seller’s obligations that could arise as the result of a stock sale.

The tax that seems to continually generate money—cigarette taxes (Or at least that appears so for the present) By Julie-April Montgomery January 2006 To smoke or not to smoke. Who really cares today? As far as government is concerned, to smoke is to give generous “sin tax” money to state and local governments.

Welcome note from the 2006-2007 Chair By Mary Nicolau July 2006 I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Mary Nicolau and I am the 2006-2007 Chair of the ISBA’s State and Local Taxation Section.

West Virginia joins growing majority of states to limit the “substantial nexus” requirement to state sales and use taxes By David R. Reid December 2006 The West Virginia Supreme Court recently held that the United States Supreme Court’s determination in Quill Corp. v. North Dakota,—that an entity’s physical presence in a state is required to meet the “substantial nexus” requirement of the Commerce Clause—does not apply to West Virginia business franchise and corporation net income taxes.

What’s in a word? The right to avoid paying taxes on someone else’s property is abolished for administrative convenience By Mark R. Davis February 2006 This article considers the problems the legislature has created for taxpayers by a little-noticed technical amendment, and its probable unconstitutionality.