2004 Articles

2004 IDOR Practitioners’ Meeting Questions and Answers November 2004 1. Why must refunds of state and local income taxes, other than Illinois, previously deducted on US 1040 schedule A in prior years and included on current year US 1040 page 1, be reported as a subtraction on line 9? Why not change the reporting for IL 1040 line 7?

The 24th Annual State and Local Taxation Conference By Alexander P. White October 2004 The 24th Annual State and Local Taxation Conference of the National Conference of State Tax Judges took place in Chicago, Illinois on Thursday, September 30 through Saturday, October 2, 2004.

The 7 percent assessment cap creates uncertainty in residential real estate closings By John K. Norris August 2004 I'm back," and with those often-heard remarks still ringing, let us revisit an issue that our Section Council was involved in during the past year: Public Act 93-715 is the embodiment of three bills that the Section collectively opposed.

93rd General Assembly 2003/04 Legislation-Summary By Donald T. Rubin December 2004 Public Act No. Statute Affected Brief Description Effective Date P.A. 93-0017

Barge company wins commerce clause case in American River Transportation Company v. Bower, __ N. E. 2d __ ( Ill. App. 2004) 19-15-326-017-0000 September 2004 The Illinois Appellate Court, Second District, recently determined that Illinois’ imposition of use tax on the consumption of fuel and supplies acquired outside Illinois and consumed by vessels engaged in the transport of bulk cargo between Illinois and New Orleans was improper.

Case summary By Steven Kandelman June 2004 Procedural History: The Illinois Department of Revenue found that the Plaintiff, the Calvary Baptist Church of Tilton ("Calvary"), did not qualify for the religious purposes tax exemption.

The chairman’s column-Saying goodbye to a productive year By John K. Norris June 2004 Wow! Where has the time gone? The 2004-2005 year is upon us already, and now it is time to reflect on the positive things State and Local Taxation did as a group. Where does one begin?

Changes to Illinois’ tax laws By Stanley R. Kaminski August 2004 1. New Watercraft Use Tax enacted on the privilege of using any watercraft acquired by any means other than a purchase at retail from a retailer which is already subject to Illinois Sales\Use Tax.

Circuit court requires the Department of Revenue to have evidence to support its administrative decision: A review of Hollinger International, Inc. v. Bower, 02 L 051514 (Cir. Ct. Cook, 1/6/04) By Stanley R. Kaminski March 2004 In a rare reversal of an administrative decision of the Illinois Department of Revenue ("Department") under the "manifest weight of the evidence" standard, the Cook County Circuit Court held that the Department's findings "still must be supported by the evidence," to be prima facie correct.

Cook County Board of Review v. Property Tax Appeal Board and The Lurie Company, Docket No. 1-01-3232 (1st Dist., December 16, 2003) By Timothy E. Moran January 2004 In August 2002, the appellate court issued its ruling in Board of Review v. Property Tax Appeal Board (Bosch).

Correction December 2004 In the November 2004 issue of Tax Trends, John Norris was mistakenly listed as author of the article entitled, "2004 IDOR Practitioners' Meeting Questions and Answers."

Envirodyne case summary By John B. Truskowski February 2004 In a rare decision by a federal appellate court involving Illinois taxes, the Seventh Circuit ruled that two subsidiaries of a holding company were not part of a unitary business group.

Exchange tax dollars for investment dollars By Hugh E. Pollard September 2004 Would you like to show your clients how to increase their wealth using tax-deferred dollars?

Follett Corporation v. Illinois Dept. of Revenue (4th Dist. 2003) By John B. Truskowski January 2004 The appellate court upheld the Circuit Court of Sangamon County's decision that Follett must include in the numerator of its sales factor sales from Illinois to a state in which Follett was not taxable, but another member of Follett's unitary business group was.

Illinois enacts new tax shelter legislation By John B. Truskowski October 2004 On July 30, 2004, Governor Blagojevich signed Senate Bill 2207 (Public Act 93-0840), which includes three sets of new tax shelter provisions that are now added to the Illinois Income Tax Act. 35 ILCS 5/101 et seq.

The Illinois Supreme Court limits the ability of consumers to challenge state taxes: An analysis of Wexler v. The Wirtz Corporation, Illinois Supreme Court, April 1, 2004 May 2004 In Wexler v. The Wirtz Corporation, the Illinois Supreme Court narrowed when consumers of products have standing to challenge taxes in Illinois.

The importance of “government” for taxes By Julie-April Montgomery February 2004 The power of government to tax is of unequivocal importance in today's modern society. But what is government for purposes of taxation?

The ins and outs of understanding the Illinois Income Tax By Stanley R. Kaminski July 2004 This article is taken from the recent Illinois State Bar Association (Law Ed Services) Seminar presented by the ISBA State and Local Taxation Section Council at the 2004 ISBA Annual Meeting on June 19, 2004, at the Abbey in Fontana, Wisconsin.

An introduction to the Illinois General Assembly Web site By Mary Ann Connelly February 2004 Recently, the local newspaper featured an article about a bill that would impact real estate taxes. How do we become aware of pending legislation?

Letter from the Chair: Welcome to the 2004-2005 State and Local Taxation Section By Louise Calvert July 2004 Welcome to another year of the State and Local Taxation Section Council's newsletter, Tax Trends. Publishing the newsletter on a monthly basis allows the Council to disseminate current information on proposed legislation, case law and administrative procedures to the members of the section.

A note from the co-editor By Mary Ann Connelly December 2004 An introduction to the issue from Co-editor Mary Ann Connelly.

A note from the co-editor By Mary Ann Connelly November 2004 This edition of Tax Trends features the questions and answers that were raised during the 2004 IDOR Practitioners' Meeting, on the 5th Floor of the State of Illinois Building, 160 North LaSalle Street on November 5, 2004.

A note from the co-editor By Mary Ann Connelly September 2004 This edition of Tax Trends features an article written by Hugh E. Pollard entitled “Exchange Tax Dollars for Investment Dollars.”

A note from the co-editor By Mary Ann Connelly August 2004 This edition of Tax Trends features an article by Ex-Officio John K. Norris about Public Act 93-715 (7 percent Assessment Cap) and its impact on your residential tax

A note from the editor By Mary Ann Connelly July 2004 This edition of Tax Trends features an article written by Stanley Kaminski, Co-Editor. Stanley Kaminski and State and Local Taxation Chair, Louise Calvert, were speakers at the Law Ed Series Overview of Illinois Taxes for the General Practitioner.

A note from the editor By Mary Ann Connelly May 2004 Associate Editor John Truskowski wrote the first article in this edition of Tax Trends.

A note from the editor By Mary Ann Connelly April 2004 This edition of Tax Trends features an article by Associate Editor Stanley R. Kaminski that originally appeared in the March 10, 2004 edition of the "Tax Institute Alert" published by The Illinois Chamber.

A note from the editor By Mary Ann Connelly March 2004 This edition of Tax Trends features a recent circuit court decision, Hollinger International, Inc. v. Bower, 02 L 051514 (Cir.Ct. Cook, 1/6/04).

A note from the editor By Mary Ann Connelly February 2004 This edition of Tax Trends features an article on how to access and follow pending legislation. The article is entitled "An Introduction to the Illinois General Assembly Web Site."

A note from the editor By Mary Ann Connelly January 2004 Happy New Year! We hope you have a very healthy and prosperous year. This edition of Tax Trends features two recent court decisions.