The State of Illinois still owes income tax refunds to many businesses, but the backlog declined in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011 and is expected to dip further this year. According to the Illinois Department of Revenue, 4,569 businesses were owed $626.9 million in income tax refunds at the end of FY2011, down from $690.9 million at the end of FY2010. Nearly 34,000 individuals were owed $18.6 million at the end of FY2011, down from $43.6 million at the end of FY2010, but all of the…
Illinois’ Personal Property Replacement Tax (PPRT) is a revenue source for local governments that was created by the General Assembly in 1979 to replace a tax on the personal property of businesses that was abolished pursuant to the 1970 Illinois Constitution Article IX Section 5. Although its name refers to the tax it replaces, the PPRT is an income tax on the federal taxable income of corporations, business partnerships, trusts and Subchapter S corporations and a tax on public…
The Civic Federation announced its support for the Chicago Public Schools proposed FY2012 budget in a 82-page analysis released today at civicfed.org. Although supporting the CPS’s proposed $5.9 billion spending plan for the coming school year, the Federation expresses strong concern about the District’s longer term fiscal health. CPS must begin work immediately on a long-term financial plan that will guide structural changes to spending and pensions in order to avoid fiscal calamity in the…
The Civic Federation supports the Chicago Public Schools proposed $5.9 billion budget for FY2012, which is an increase of 1.5%, or $87.0 million, from the year-end estimates of FY2011. The proposed budget is a reasonable short-term plan to fund the District’s core educational mission through its difficult, deepening financial crisis. The Civic Federation is very concerned about the District’s long term fiscal health. CPS will face enormous budget shortfalls in future years, particularly with…
This article profiles many of the major reforms Chicago Public Schools may need to make in order to ensure long-term fiscal health. The Civic Federation says that because the District’s financial problems stem in part from delayed State of Illinois funds and from the District’s decision to refrain from raising taxes to the limit despite growing expenses.
New rulings by the Illinois Department of Revenue have reignited a debate over whether the State’s non-profit hospitals provide adequate charity care to patients in exchange for their property-tax exemptions. On August 16, 2011 the Department of Revenue denied property tax exemptions to three hospitals and said it was reviewing applications from 15 others seeking exemptions . As is customary for the Revenue Department, the rulings state that the ownership and use of the properties do not…
Findings from the Civic Federation’s “Estimated Full Value of Real Property in Cook County: 2000-2009” report is the focus of this article. The Federation found that even with declines in the total value of property in Chicago between 2006 and 2009, over the decade between 2000 and 2009 value still increased by 72.4%.
This article discusses the Civic Federation’s “Estimated Full Value of Real Property in Cook County: 2000-2009” report, which found that the total value of property in the County in 2009 decreased by 10.7% from 2008.
This article explores Chicago Public Schools’ decision to raise its property tax to the maximum amount allowed while also making program and staffing cuts to balance a $712 million budget gap using some of its reserves. The Civic Federation says that drawing down reserve funds is not a good long-term fiscal strategy, but may be a reasonable decision if it helps maintain class sizes and limits the pressure on taxpayers.
In this news segment about Chicago Public Schools proposal to increase its property tax levy to help fill its $712 million budget gap, Civic Federation Vice President Lise Valentine says that CPS is making difficult but reasonable choices given the fiscal condition of the System.
