Indiana

Enacting Right to Work would help halt business exodus from Illinois

By Paul Kersey

01/01/2014

There is a virtual caravan of businesses leaving Illinois. Office Depot, which announced that it would be setting up its headquarters in Boca Raton, Fla., rather than Naperville, Ill., is only the latest. A string of smaller companies, mainly manufacturers such as Modern Drop Forge or Food Warning Equipment Company have been relocating – sometimes...

Illinois has the highest sales taxes of its neighbors

By John Klingner

12/20/2013

Illinois has high sales taxes. As of January 2013, Illinois had the 12th-highest combined state and average local sales tax rate in the country at 8.13 percent – higher than all bordering states. Chicago’s combined sales tax rate of 9.75 percent tied with Los Angeles as the highest sales tax among major U.S. metropolitan areas...

TAGS: Chicago, sales tax

Bipartisan success 2013

By Matt Paprocki, Jane McEnaney

12/19/2013

The Illinois Policy Institute introduced the only comprehensive pension reform plan during the 2013 legislative session. The Institute’s pension solution is the first plan that shifts Illinois workers out of the state’s broke defined benefit system and into a 401(k)-style plan, giving workers control and the pension system solvency. The introduction of this legislation has...

Illinois employers warn of nearly 1,800 layoffs

By Hilary Gowins

12/13/2013

Nearly 1,800 workers will be laid off throughout Illinois in the next two months. This unfortunate holiday news will affect nearly 500 Dominick’s employees as the company prepares to close up shop in Illinois. The latest round of notices includes 141 workers from the company’s Oak Brook headquarters and another 332 workers at its Northlake...

Amazon Associates back in business in Illinois thanks to Supreme Court decision

12/05/2013

On Wednesday, thousands of Illinois residents got good news when Amazon announced that its Amazon Associates program – which allows bloggers and others with websites to make money when people click links on their sites to make purchases – would once again be open to them. Amazon dropped Illinoisans from the program in April 2011...

TAGS: Main Street Fairness Act, marketplace fairness, taxes

Property tax rates skyrocket in Illinois, 2nd-highest in U.S.

By Brian Costin

12/05/2013

Illinois’ property tax rates have skyrocketed since 2010, according to new analysis done by the Tax Policy Center. The survey examined the 23 Illinois counties with populations exceeding 65,000. The average property tax rates as a percent of home value has soared from 1.93 percent in 2010 to 2.28 percent in 2012. This represents an 18 percent property...

TAGS: property taxes

Illinois Supreme Court strikes down Illinois ‘Amazon Tax’

10/18/2013

The Illinois Supreme Court today struck down the state’s “Amazon Tax,” a state law that forced online retailers to pay Illinois taxes regardless of whether they had a storefront or other physical presence in the state. In its ruling, the Supreme Court indicated that it struck down the law because it conflicts with a federal...

TAGS: Coupon Cabin, Fat Wallet, Illinois Supreme Court, internet tax

Disappearance of Illinois’ manufacturing sector

By Justin Hegy

10/10/2013

It’s hard not to notice the disappearance of Illinois’ manufacturing sector. Anyone driving through the outskirts of Peoria can witness the closed buildings and half-abandoned neighborhoods. Cities all across Illinois have seen a similar story unfold. Illinois’ manufacturing base has been in decline, losing over 130,000 manufacturing jobs in the past decade. Even during the...

TAGS: progressive income tax

Indiana sues IRS over ObamaCare employer mandate

By Naomi Lopez Bauman

10/09/2013

While the media and public are focused on lawmakers’ fight over ObamaCare and the federal budget, a bigger fight is taking place in the courts. On Oct. 8, the state of Indiana, along with 15 school districts, filed suit against the Internal Revenue Service over ObamaCare’s employer mandate. Under the law, large employers are required...

TAGS: ACA: Affordable Care Act, U.S. Supreme Court

Illinois’ unfriendly business environment killing jobs, growth

By Benjamin VanMetre

10/09/2013

A new Tax Foundation report reveals one of the reasons why Illinoisans are finding it so hard to get jobs – it’s getting more and more expensive for businesses to operate in Illinois. The Tax Foundation released today its 2014 State Business Tax Climate Index, confirming the state’s worsening position. Illinois has dropped 15 spots to...

TAGS: State Business Tax Climate Index

FAQ: How the federal scholarship program would help Illinois students

Illinois students could soon benefit from scholarship money to help them find a tutor, attend ACT or SAT prep sessions, pay tuition, get special education services or assist with other academic needs. That will happen in Illinois only if Gov. J.B. Pritzker lets the state’s schoolchildren benefit from the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program, established...

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