Tax Institute Policy Review
September Edition 2008
August 15th Tax Institute Meeting
The August 15th quarterly meeting of the Tax Institute was hosted by member Dale Uselton of State Farm Insurance and held at State Farm corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Archana Warner, new State and Local Tax Manager for Exelon was welcomed. Members were updated on recent legislative developments, as the meeting immediately followed the special sessions of the General Assembly called by Governor Blagojevich. The members considered several policy positions for recommendation to the Chamber Board of Directors and discussed Illinois tax increase proposals for education funding. Members also reviewed recent rulemaking activities of the Department of Revenue and identified several draft regulations for follow-up activity by Chamber staff. For more information about the Illinois Chamber Tax Institute, contact Connie Beard at cbeard@ilchamber.org. Tax Institute meets with SSTP Governing Board Members
Connie Beard, Executive Director of the Tax Institute, met in Chicago with the members of the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board on June 16th. The Governing Board was in Chicago for a working group meeting and, at the request of Illinois Senators Cullerton and Althoff, took the opportunity to meet with Illinois tax and business associations to encourage their support of the SSTP program. The governing board is actively seeking Illinois' participation in the program. Issues of concern to the Chamber and other industry associations were discussed and the Tax Institute provided the Governing Board with a summary of our concerns with SSTP. The summary was prepared by a working group of the Tax Institute. There was disagreement as to whether Illinois would be in compliance with SSTP if SB 1429 were adopted by the Illinois General Assembly. The Governing Board agreed to conduct an audit of Illinois' compliance with the national program and report back to the group on all areas of non-compliance. The audit would review both current law and the law as if it were amended by proposed SB 1429. The audit is currently ongoing. For more information contact Connie Beard Illinois Litigation To Watch
Illinois Property Tax Challenged as Revenue Source for Education Funding
In a complaint filed August 20, 2008 against the State of Illinois and the State Board of Education, the Chicago Urban League alleges that the use of property taxes to fund Illinois schools is unconstitutional. The Urban League’s complaint sets forth an argument that the funding system is discriminatory and is a violation of a student’s civil rights in that students living in areas producing lower property tax revenues are at a disadvantage compared to students living in areas producing higher property tax revenues.
For more information, click here for a copy of the complaint.
Articles and Reports of Interest
Fiscal Focus Daniel W. Hynes
A Publication of the Illinois State Comptroller
The July edition of “Fiscal Focus” from the Illinois Comptrollers Office gives an in depth review of some of the issues and pitfalls Illinois is facing with the Medicaid program. A brief synopsis of the Illinois “All Kids” medical coverage plan is included.
This issue also contains the 2nd quarter results for state revenues and expenditures. As expected, given the slowing economy, sales tax revenues for April, May and June remain flat with a growth of approximately 1.1% over the same period for FY 2008. Corporate income tax revenues have grown at a 4-6% rate over the prior fiscal year, while individual income tax revenues have increased between 9-10% during the April-June quarter.
Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability
Monthly Briefing July 2008
This edition of the CGFA’s Monthly Briefing discusses Illinois’ unemployment levels and other economic indicators that seem to predict a slow recovery for Illinois.
Also included is a very informative article by Eric Noggle, Sr. Revenue Analyst, regarding sales tax revenue from motor fuel. The article explains that while there may appear initially to be a “sales tax windfall” from the rising cost of fuel, it is most likely offset by spending less money on other consumer purchases.
Tax Foundation
News Release
August 19, 2008
“Tax Foundation Launches CompeteUSA Campaign to Highlight "Real-Wallet" Impact of High Business Taxes on U.S. Jobs and Wages”
“Campaign Follows OECD Reports Showing U.S. Competitiveness in Decline and that High Business Taxes are Single Most Harmful to GDP Growth”
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