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HOT TOPICS |
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ICPAS INITIATIVES |
Open Meetings Act
House Bill 1277 authorizes the closure of meetings between internal or external auditors and governmental audit committees, finance committees, and their equivalents, when the discussion involves internal control weaknesses, identification of potential fraud risk areas, known or suspected frauds, and fraud interviews conducted in accordance with
US generally accepted auditing standards.
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BUDGET |
State Debt Consolidation
Senate Bill 3
creates the General
Obligation Restructuring Bond Fund and the
General Obligation Restructuring Bond Debt
Service Fund as special funds in the state
treasury to pay vouchers that are at least
60 days past due, medical expenses incurred
by the state under its health plans,
corporate income tax refunds, and other
state
operating expenses.
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REGULATORY |
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IDFPR Licensees included in Whistle Blower Act
House Bill 1135 adds to the definition of
"employee" any person licensed by the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation,
and prohibits employers from adopting policies or enforcing rules preventing licensees from disclosing information to a government or law enforcement agency if there is a violation of state or federal law,
etc.
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TAX |
Tax Hike Repeal
Senate Bill 78
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House Bill 175
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Senate Bill 1320 reduces the tax
increase imposed by Senate Bill 2505 of the 96th General Assembly to the rates in effect immediately prior to the passage of Senate Bill 2505.
Net Loss Carryover Reduction Restored
Senate Bill 110 /
House Bill 243 /
House Bill 1897 restores a net loss carryover deduction for taxable years ending after December 31, 2010 and prior to December 31, 2014.
Illinois Amends Estate and Generation-Skipping Transfer Tax Act
Effective immediately, House Bill 1107 /
Senate Bill 1767 provides that the estate tax shall not be imposed for persons dying after December 31, 2010.
Higher Taxes for Smokers
Senate Bill 6
adds an additional $1 tax per pack of
cigarettes. The money is intended to support
a long-term care fund.
Site of Business or Service for Taxing
Purposes
Expanded
Senate Bill 1783
provides that the terms "retailer
maintaining a place of business in this
State" and "serviceman maintaining a place
of business in this State" include a
retailer or serviceman having any
representative, agent, salesperson,
canvasser, independent contractor, or
solicitor operating under the
authority of the retailer or serviceman or
its subsidiary for the purpose of selling,
delivering, installing, assembling, or
taking orders for any tangible personal
property.
R&D Tax Credit
Senate Bill 163
reinstates the credit for taxable years ending prior to
January 1, 2016 (now, January 1, 2011), and
increases the amount of the credit from 6.5% to 8% of the qualifying expenditures for
increasing research activities.
Public Access to Tax Rates to Come
Senate Bill 43
creates the Taxation Disclosure Act and
provides that the Department of Revenue
will make an online
searchable database of tax rates by zip
code, address, or interactive map publicly
available.
Sales Tax Sourcing Further Defined
Senate Bill 2194
provides that, with respect to retailers'
and service occupation taxes imposed by the
state and units of local government, sales
are attributed to the unit of local
government where the purchase order is
accepted, subject to certain exceptions.
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GENERAL GOVERNMENT |
Covenant Not to Compete
House Bill 16 creates the Illinois Covenants Not to Compete Act and establishes criteria for enforceability of
such covenants.
IDFPR Appropriation
House Bill 131 appropriates $2 million from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation for its FY12 ordinary and contingent expenses.
Health
Benefits Exchange to Come to Illinois
Senate Bill 1549
creates the Illinois Health Benefits
Exchange Act and provides the establishment
of
the Illinois Health Benefits Exchange to
help individuals and
employers with 50 employees or less to
shop for, select, and enroll in qualified,
affordable private health plans. |
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OTHER NEWS |
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STATE |
Governor Quinn
Presents $52.7 Billion State Budget
"The
Governor proposed a lean budget that spreads
the burden across state government, while
implementing investments and economies
needed to ensure a better future."
Although not mentioned in his remarks to the General Assembly, buried in his proposed budget documents was a proposal to de-couple from the federal bonus depreciation standards.
Read More.
(State of
Illinois)
Illinois Department of Revenue Issues Bulletins
Form IL 4562 provides guidance
for the new 100% bonus depreciation standards enacted as part of the Federal end-of-session tax legislation.
Informational Bulletin 2011-09 provides tax practitioners, individuals and businesses with information on the new state income tax rates.
CPA Appointed to
Illinois General Assembly
State Representative
Pam Roth (R-Morris) was appointed to the Illinois House of Representatives to represent the voters of the 78th legislative district. Roth is
the only CPA in the House.
Appellate Court Invalidates State Public
Works Project Funding
"State construction and building projects
may be in for a long haul. An Illinois
Appellate Court ... threw out the
state's multi-year, $31 billion capital
program, leaving local lawmakers concerned."
Read More.
(Illinois Statehouse News)
SEC Launches Inquiry into Illinois Pension System
"Federal regulators
are examining disclosures by Illinois about
its unorthodox pension funding method,
trying to determine whether the state misled
bond investors about the risks."
Read More.
(The New York
Times)
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NATIONAL |
Tax Strategy Patent
(TSP) Bill Introduced
"The proposed legislation would apply to any attempt to patent a strategy to reduce tax liability under federal, state, local or foreign law."
Fourteen state societies including Illinois worked with the AICPA in defense of the TSP provision.
Read More.
(Journal of Accountancy)
Read the Illinois CPA
Society's letter to Representative Quigley.
1099 Repeal on the Floor
The proposed bill "[w]ould repeal both the expanded information reporting requirements enacted as part of last year's health reform legislation and the requirement that taxpayers who receive income from rental property issue 1099s to service providers."
The Illinois CPA Society and the AICPA support repeal of the expanded Form 1099 reporting requirements.
Read More.
(Journal of Accountancy)
Taxpayer Advocate Delivers Annual Report to Congress
NTA Nina E. Olson's recent report "identifies the need for tax reform as the number one priority in tax administration today."
Read More.
(Taxpayer Advocate Service) |
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CONTACTS |
Marty Green, JD
Vice President,
Government Relations
Jill Loeser
Manager,
Government Relations
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Government
Relations Office
Illinois CPAs for Political Action
A strong
collective voice for CPAs and CPA firms,
this group
provides a foundation for successful
legislative advocacy.
Contribute Today!
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New Members of the Illinois General
Assembly
Representatives
Art Turner, Jr., D-9
(Art Turner, Sr.)
Ann Williams, D-11
(John Fritchey)
Daniel Biss, D-17
(Beth Coulson)
Robyn Gabel, D-18
(Julie Hamos)
Thaddeus Jones, D-29
(David
Miller)
Bill Cunningham D-35
(Kevin Joyce)
Kelly Burke, D-36
(Jim Brosnahan)
Chris Nybo, R-41
(Bob Biggins)
Tom Morrison, R-54
(Suzie Bassi)
Michelle Mussman,
D-56
(Paul Froehlich)
Carol Sente, D-59
(Kathy Ryg)
Rita Mayfield, D-60
(Eddie
Washington)
David Harris, R-66
(Mark
Walker)
Joe Sosnowski, R-69
(Ron
Wait)
Rich Morthland, R-71
(Mike
Boland)
Pam Roth, R-75
(Careen
Gordon)
Camille Lilly, D-78
(Deborah Graham)
Mike Unes, R-91
(Mike
Smith)
Norine Hammond,
R-94
(Rich
Myers)
Wayne Rosenthal, R-98
(Gary Hannig)
Adam Brown, R-101
(Bob Flider)
Chad Hays, R-104
(Bill
Black)
Jason Barickman,
R-105
(Shane Cultra)
Dwight Kay, R-112
(Jay
Hoffman)
Senators
John Mulroe, D-10
(Jim DeLeo)
Steve Landek D-11
(Lou Viverito)
Ron Sandack, R-21
(Dan Cronin)
Suzi Schmidt, R-31
(Michael Bond)
Christie Johnson, D-35
(Brad Burzynski)
Sue Rezin, R-38
(Gary Dahl)
Tom Johnson, R-48
(Randy Hultgren)
Sam McCann, R-49 (Deanna Demuzio)
Shane Cultra, R-53
(Dan
Rutherford)
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Legislative Statistics
As of February 14, 2011, 2369 bills have
been introduced in the Senate and 1587 in
the House.
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