“Official: Stickney Village President improperly claimed property tax benefit” plus 2 more |
- Official: Stickney Village President improperly claimed property tax benefit
- Property tax draws interest
- Property tax bills on the way
| Official: Stickney Village President improperly claimed property tax benefit Posted: 26 Jan 2011 08:40 PM PST Stickney Village President Daniel O'Reilly improperly claimed property tax breaks on two of his businesses, prompting the Cook County assessor's office to revoke those exemptions as well as one on his home, an official said Wednesday. O'Reilly claimed homeowner exemptions on the two businesses since 2003, despite having claimed the exemption on his home in Stickney since 1999, said Kelley Quinn, a spokeswoman for the assessor. The businesses are O'Reilly's Flowers and an ice cream shop, 3-D's Cool Creations, located in adjacent buildings in the 6700 block of West Pershing Road in Berwyn. State law prohibits property owners from claiming the exemption on more than one property and requires that owners live in the property for which they are seeking the tax break. The exemptions on the businesses saved O'Reilly $3,506.26 in taxes in addition to the more than $9,800 he saved from the exemption he claimed on his home, according to records from the assessor's office. Reached late Wednesday as he left his floral shop, O'Reilly declined to comment. "You already printed your story," he said, referring to reports on chicagotribune.com published earlier that day. O'Reilly was elected president of the small western suburb in April 2009. Quinn said all of O'Reilly's exemptions were revoked Wednesday and that he will be required to show proof of residency at his home to have that exemption reinstated. The assessor's office plans to forward the matter to the Cook County state's attorney's office, she said. Violation of the law governing home owner exemptions is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,500. Quinn said that the assessor's office, which records tax data on approximately 1.5 million pieces of property, has traditionally relied on tips from citizens about alleged abuses of the homeowner exemption. Daniel Fuentes, who lives in the village, said he contacted the Tribune after he uncovered documents showing the exemptions, following a falling-out with O'Reilly. Fuentes said he worked as a precinct captain for O'Reilly during his 2009 election bid but said he gradually grew disillusioned with his leadership. "This should have been caught a long time ago," Fuentes said. Some other residents of the small western suburb also expressed concern. "It's our mayor — he has to practice what he preaches," said Selena Rodriguez, 19, who lives with her parents. "I would probably be a lot more angry if I paid property taxes — I can already hear what my father would say." This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Posted: 26 Jan 2011 04:49 PM PST Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality plans to divide houses into 10 categories and levy property tax rates based on the divisions. "A 3 percent property tax will be enough to put off property speculators," Mayor Huang Qifan said on Tuesday at a working conference of the municipal taxation and financial bureau. "I recently paid a business visit to Taipei, which levies property taxes between 1 percent and 3 percent," Huang said, adding that the rate is harsher than what Chongqing has in mind. He said earlier that the taxes would be levied on high-end homes bought before and after the taxes have taken effect. Meanwhile, previous reports predicted the taxes to range from 0.5 percent to 2 percent. Chongqing and Shanghai will be the first group of cities to implement a property tax on a trial basis. Shanghai is now awaiting the central government's approval to impose the tax which will target only newly-purchased spacious houses though details have not been released yet. China Business News cited unnamed sources as saying Shanghai will levy the tax on homes of 60 square meters or bigger on a per capita basis. On new homes purchased after the tax is announced, the authorities will add up the total housing space and levy a tax of up to 4 percent on the total value of the newly-bought home. "It seems local governments do not mean to involve most residences and want to reduce the (tax) influence to the minimum," said He Zhizhong, a Hong Kong-based analyst at BOCOM International Securities Co. "The tax will not have much impact on curbing housing prices," He added. "Based on international experience, the impact will be gradually digested and not change the long-term trend (of rising prices)." Still, Shanghai residents are rushing to buy a home ahead of the impending tax. Transactions of existing homes, with a floor area over 140 square meters and costing at least 3 million yuan (US$456,000), rose 36.4 percent in the first half of January from the same period a month earlier. For homes costing over 10 million yuan, there was a 100 percent jump in deals, according to Century 21 China Real Estate. Source: Shanghai Daily This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Posted: 27 Jan 2011 09:42 AM PST The Arapahoe County Treasurer's Office was to begin mailing property-tax notices on Jan. 24, but only property owners who pay taxes directly — not through a mortgage company — will receive a notice unless they have requested one. "Since Arapahoe County is joining other counties in providing tax notices electronically, we want to make sure all property owners are aware of this change," Treasurer Sue Sandstrom said. Instead of mailing about 218,000 notices as the county has done in past years, the treasurer will be sending roughly 100,000 in 2011. That will save the county approximately $40,000 in paper and postage expenses, according to the treasurer. "But, we also want to let all property owners know they have the option to take advantage of e-notices, or opt in to receive a paper copy if they prefer," she added. Last October, the treasurer's office notified nearly 115,000 property owners that they will receive their tax bills electronically in 2011 because the Colorado Legislature passed a law authorizing counties to do so.Historically, the tax bills have been mailed in January to all property owners. The bills cover taxes for the previous year. The treasurer's office also sends the tax information to mortgage lenders, but Sandstrom said property owners are the ones who are ultimately responsible and may want to follow up with their lender to make sure their taxes have been paid. Included with the 2010 tax bill is a yellow insert offering property owners the opportunity to discontinue paper copies of their tax bills. All property owners will be able to access an electronic version of their tax notices at co.arapahoe.co.us/departments/tr in early February. For more information, call 303-795-4550. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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