Section Newsletters

Articles on Taxation

Bills passed in the 93rd General Assembly reviewed by the State and Local Taxation Section Council By Louise Calvert State and Local Taxation, September 2003 Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that the collector shall collect $12 (now, $10) from the proceeds of each tax sale to cover the costs of registered or certified mailing and the costs of advertisement and publication with respect to the notice of judgment and sale.
The Richman Report: Summary of new tax law changes By Bruce L. Richman Family Law, September 2003 President Bush recently signed the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA).
Analysis of two recent tax cases decided by the Illinois appellate court By Stanley R. Kaminski State and Local Taxation, August 2003 In JM Aviation, Inc. v. Department of Revenue, Illinois Appellate Court, First District, First Division (June 2, 2003), the taxpayer, JM Aviation (an Illinois corporation) acquired an aircraft from Southern Aircraft Services, Inc. (SAS) (a Florida corporation).
Recent decisions in real estate tax cases By Timothy E. Moran State and Local Taxation, August 2003 Appellate court reversed decision of Department of Revenue (DOR) granting exemption for residence owned by church group and occupied by "ministry teacher."
Administrative sales in error in connection with county annual and scavenger tax sales By Martha A. Mills State and Local Taxation, July 2003 There will, in the real world, inevitably be sales in error at an annual or scavenger sale.
Estate and gift tax update By Edward J. Schoen, Jr. Federal Taxation, June 2003 On December 24, 2002, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued final regulations (T.D. 9032) under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 645 regarding the election to treat certain revocable trusts as part of an estate.
The Illinois Supreme Court narrows the Constitutional protections of taxpayers— or, in other words—Where has all the reasonableness gone? By Stanley R. Kaminski State and Local Taxation, June 2003 In Arangold Corporation v. Kenneth E. Zehnder, the Illinois Supreme Court held that the Illinois Tobacco Products Tax was not unconstitutional under either the Illinois Due Process or Uniformity Clauses.
Individual income tax update: Highlights of The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 By Thomas F. Arends Federal Taxation, June 2003 Introduction: On May 28, 2003, President Bush signed into law The Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003
Tax administration and procedure update By James S. Zmuda Federal Taxation, June 2003 The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued temporary and proposed regulations pursuant to Code §§6107 and 6695 to facilitate electronic filing and record keeping by tax return preparers.
Illinois Supreme Court and Appellate Court rulings State and Local Taxation, May 2003 In Blessing White v. Zehnder, 329 Ill. App. 3d 714, 768 N.E.2d 332 (1st Dist., Mar. 29, 2002) the appellate court affirmed the trial court's ruling that the gain from a sale of substantially all of the assets of a corporation was nonbusiness income when the seller ceases operations and distributes the sales proceeds to its shareholders.
Important tax laws & legal rulings of 2002 State and Local Taxation, May 2003 Public Act 92-0603 (SB 1543, Peterson)--Decouples Illinois from the federal accelerated depreciation rules. A
IRS temporarily halts off-road tax proposal* Mineral Law, May 2003 HOUSTON--The Internal Revenue Service has at least temporarily halted its attempts to impose federal retail excise taxes on nonfarm equipment used by the oil and gas drilling and well servicing industries, reports the Association of Energy Service Companies.
Tax rulings and decisions By Mark E. Zumdahl Trusts and Estates, May 2003 The Tax Court case of Ralph H. Davis v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 2003-55, reminds us of the danger of placing limitations on the right of a surviving spouse to trust income if a marital deduction is desired.
Will bankruptcy wipe out your taxes? Probably not By Charles A. King Commercial Banking, Collections, and Bankruptcy, May 2003 Often people and businesses have financial difficulties which result in the need to file for bankruptcy protection.
As good as it gets: Appeals’ fast track mediation, settlement and post-appeals mediation* By Karen V. Kole Federal Taxation, April 2003 The Appeals mission is to resolve tax controversies, without litigation, on a basis that is fair and impartial to both the Government and the taxpayer and in a manner that will enhance voluntary compliance and public confidence in the integrity and efficiency of the Service.
Case synopses By Stanley R. Kaminski State and Local Taxation, April 2003 On December 2, 2002, the Circuit Court's reversed its earlier decision (of February 5, 2002) in favor of Mead Corporation in which it held that "gross receipts" from the sale of investments should be included in the apportionment factor for income tax purposes, rather than the "net income" from such sales.
Corporate and partnership tax update By Michael L. English Federal Taxation, April 2003 In Seggerman Farms, Inc., 2002 TNT 207-5, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, affirming the Tax Court, has held that shareholders of a family farm corporation must recognize gain on the transfer of assets to the corporation where the liabilities assumed by the corporation exceeds the adjusted basis of the property transferred.
Creative tax strategy for business clients By Patrick F. Daly Federal Taxation, April 2003 Have you ever had a business client call and tell you that they are moving the business?
Estate planning update By Kelli E. Madigan Federal Taxation, April 2003 As practitioners await the Tax Court's decision in Strangi, 15 T.C. 478, with respect to the IRS' section 2036 claim to include all of the assets held in the family limited partnership in the estate of the decedent, we see other section 2036 claims approved in Thompson and Kimbell.
Follow-up to previous articles: Further developments By Timothy E. Moran State and Local Taxation, April 2003 Follow-up to: "Recent Changes to the Indemnity Fund Act," published in ISBA Tax Trends, April, 2001, Volume 44, Number 4.
Tax Trends digest of topics available on the Web site By Karen Dimond & Mary Ann Connelly State and Local Taxation, March 2003 "A Review of the 18th Annual Conference of the National Conference of State Tax Judges" by Judge Alexander White. Judge White reviews the three-day conference and the history and future of the National Conference of State Tax Judges.
Creative tax strategy for business clients By Patrick F. Daly Business Advice and Financial Planning, February 2003 Have you ever had a business client call and tell you that they are moving the business?
Will bankruptcy wipe out your taxes? Probably not By Charles A. King & Julie-April Montgomery State and Local Taxation, February 2003 Often people and businesses have financial difficulties that result in the need to file for bankruptcy protection.
Are tax returns privileged documents? By William F. Marutzky Federal Taxation, January 2003 Generally speaking, pretrial discovery rules are meant to be interpreted liberally in accordance with the policy favoring broad pretrial discovery
Illinois Department of Revenue practitioners’ questions & answers State and Local Taxation, January 2003 Question #1: Jobs Training Credit. Please review the details of the Illinois Jobs Training Credit.
Individual income tax update By James S. Zmuda Federal Taxation, January 2003 In United States v. Galletti, 298 F.3d 1107, as amended, 2002 U.S. App. LEXIS 23825 (9th Cir. 2002), the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (Ninth Circuit) held an assessment for employment tax liability against a partnership was not an assessment against individual general partners, who were separate taxpayers.
IRS excess benefit penalties for non-profit public charities By Donna F. Hartl Federal Taxation, January 2003 Many of us from time to time have had experiences of varying degrees with non-profit organizations.
Is good help hard to find? Split-dollar life insurance arrangements can help By Bart A. Basi Federal Taxation, January 2003 Life Insurance rates continue to go up, and let's face it, none of us are getting younger.
Tax administration and procedure update By Thomas F. Arends Federal Taxation, January 2003 The following update contains selected information provided by the IRS Small Business/Self-Employed Taxpayer Education and Communication Group which periodically issues various news releases on IRS rulings, highlights on proposed regulations on tax procedure, and other tax administration announcements that may be relevant to the practitioner community.
Computer-stored data acquired from real estate services: Should the Property Tax Appeal Board allow it into the record? By Christopher B. Kaczynski State and Local Taxation, 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.

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