Tax Trends

The newsletter of the ISBA’s Section on State & Local Taxation

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2009 Articles

2009 Illinois legislation review and update By David Eldridge September 2009 Legislation of interest to state & local tax practitioners.
Abatement of penalties for reasonable cause: Best practices By David P. Dorner December 2009 Every state imposes penalties for the failure to file tax or information returns or to pay taxes within the time proscribed by statute. In most instances, however, a state will abate imposed penalties if the taxpayer can demonstrate reasonable cause for the noncompliance.
An article: What policymakers should know about real estate taxes By Hon. Alexander P. White August 2009 A review of the article, "What Policy Makers Should Know About Real Estate Taxes."
Bond or lien requirements of the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act in administrative proceedings By David R. Reid February 2009 An unconstitutional argument based on equal protection and pertaining to 35 ILCS § 735/3-7 is plausible, but is unlikely to prevail.
Chair’s closing remarks By Thomas M. Battista June 2009 A message from outgoing chair Thomas Battista.
The Cook County Board amends the Cook County Real Property Assessment classification ordinance By Leonard F. Amari, Vesna Marusic, & Katherine A. Amari April 2009 The Cook County Real Property Assessment Classification Ordinance No. 08-0-51 amends the real property classification system by applying lower percentages to the market value for the assessment levels for all the real property located in Cook County.
Cook County’s Department of Administrative Hearings: The new kid on the block By J.A. Sebastian January 2009 In today’s litigious society, more and more matters are being initially handled outside of the courts and in administrative proceedings—especially matters that involve government enforcement, compliance and collection.
Delayed implementation of a statutory amendment necessitated a finding that the Legislature intended to apply the statutory amendment prospectively and that tax objectors were entitled to the pre-amendment interest rate up until the effective date of the By Christopher B. Kaczynski & Jacki Dobesh November 2009 The First District Appellate Court has recently ruled that tax objectors who paid taxes and filed Specific Objection lawsuits prior to amendment of Section 23-20 of the Property Tax Code were entitled to the pre-amendment interest rate up until the effective date of the statutory amendment, even though judgment orders granting statutory interest were entered after the statutory amendment.
Editor’s comment By Mary Ann Connelly August 2009 An introduction to the issue from editor Mary Ann Connelly.
Editor’s note By Stanley R. Kaminski December 2009 The assertion of “reasonable cause” as a rationale to abate penalties is a commonly used argument by taxpayers. Yet, since it is applied on a case-by-case basis and its application sometimes varies among taxing agencies, it is sometimes unclear whether it can apply in a given case and in many cases it is even more difficult to demonstrate.
Editor’s note By Stanley R. Kaminski November 2009 An introduction to the issue from Stanley Kaminski.
Editor’s note By Stanley R. Kaminski October 2009 An introduction to the issue from editor Stanley Kaminski.
Editor’s note By Stanley R. Kaminski September 2009 An introduction to the issue from editor Stanley Kaminski.
Editor’s note By Stanley R. Kaminski July 2009 An introduction to the issue from editor Stanley Kaminski.
Editor’s note By Stanley R. Kaminski January 2009 An introduction to the issue from editor Stanley Kaminski.
IDOR Practitioners’ meetings Q&A July 2009 Questions and answers from the recent Illinois Department of Revenue Practitioners' meeting.
Illinois Supreme Court holds electricity is “tangible personal property” for purposes of the Illinois Personal Property Tax Replacement Income Tax Investment Credit By David J. Kupiec & Natalie M. Martin March 2009 On February 20, 2009, the Illinois Supreme Court issued an Opinion holding that electricity is “tangible personal property” for purposes of the Illinois personal property tax replacement income tax investment credit.
Illinois Supreme Court issues modified opinion holding electricity is “tangible personal property” for purposes of Section 201(e) of the Illinois Income Tax Act but imposes prospective application By David J. Kupiec & Natalie M. Martin October 2009 At issue in this case is whether the Taxpayer’s 1995 and 1996 investments in property used for generating, transmitting and distributing electricity to customers in Illinois qualified for the .5 percent investment credit provided under Section 201(e) of the IITA.
Incentives for industrial building owners or future owners By Mary Nicolau August 2009 An overview of the Class 6B incentive offered by the Cook County Assessor’s Office. 
Mediation of tax Disputes through the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC) By Lee Christoff May 2009
Message from the Chair By Mary Ann Connelly August 2009 A note from section chair Mary Ann Connelly.
A note from the Co-Editor By Stanley R. Kaminski May 2009 An introduction to the issue from co-editor Stanley Kaminski.
A note from the co-editor By Mary Ann Connelly February 2009 An introduction to the issue from co-editor Mary Ann Connelly.
A note from the co-editors By Stanley R. Kaminski & Mary Ann Connelly April 2009 An introduction to the issue from co-editors Stanley Kaminski and Mary Ann Connelly.
Party challenges denial of FOIA request because party refused to pay $5,500 fee By Mary Ann Connelly June 2009 The Second District Appellate Court provides an interesting analysis of FOIA requests and what body of authority should control.
Recent decisions in real estate tax cases By Timothy E. Moran May 2009 Recent cases of interest to tax attorneys.
A review of In re Application of the County Collector (A.P. Properties, Inc. v. Ezra Chaim Properties), Appellate Court, Second District, Docket No. 2-08-0755, 2009 WL 2767020, August 27, 2009 By Tara H. Ori December 2009 Homeowner’s property taxes were sold for failure to pay real estate taxes for the year 2003. The taxes were purchased by tax buyer A.P. Properties, Inc. at the tax sale in December 2004.
A review of the 29th Annual National Conference of State Tax Judges By Hon. Alexander P. White November 2009 The 29th Annual National Conference of State Tax Judges (NCSTJ) convened on September 24-26, 2009 at the Commander Hotel in Cambridge, MA.