“Property tax change may not help suburban homeowners” plus 1 more

Property tax change may not help suburban homeowners

Posted: 07 Jan 2011 01:27 PM PST

Article updated: 1/7/2011 04:27 PM

Daily Herald file photo Owners of suburban homes, such as these in Algonquin, would get each in property tax relief in exchange for an income tax increase to 5.25 percent from the current 3 percent.

By Jeff Engelhardt

SPRINGFIELD — A plan to deliver property tax relief to Illinoisans in exchange for paying higher income taxes might not help many suburban homeowners, one suburban Republican lawmaker predicted Friday.

And a suburban Democrat said the idea of getting annual $325 checks to help with property tax bills is a "big, big joke."

Senate President John Cullerton told reporters Thursday that those rebate checks also would replace current rules that allow Illinois homeowners to take an income tax credit worth 5 percent of their owed property taxes.

Rep. Ed Sullivan, a Mundelein Republican, said many of his constituents with large property tax bills fall under a category of homeowners who would not benefit.

"Anybody with property tax bills over $6,500 loses completely because they would have had a bigger exemption on their income taxes then what they are going to get back from the state," said Sullivan, who also is the assessor in Fremont Township.

Rep. Fred Crespo, a Hoffman Estates Democrat who has said he would not approve an income tax increase without property tax relief, said Friday the idea of a $325 check is a "big, big joke."

"That doesn't even amount to anything," Crespo said. "It's almost an insult."

The checks would be paid for by part of the proposed income tax increase from 3 percent to 5.25 percent, Cullerton told reporters Thursday. One quarter of 1 percent of the increase would generate the roughly $775 million needed to pay for the checks. Renters are not included in the plan.

Sullivan said the notion the plan is fair for all taxpayers is incorrect because the Democrats' proposal punishes the wealthy.

"They are also paying more for their house and putting more into schools because of their house, so they should receive a larger exemption," he said.

Cullerton said if the proposal is approved, taxpayers would get the credit when they fill out their income tax returns this year. They'd get their first rebate check about a year from now in the next tax cycle.

• Daily Herald State Government Writer Mike Riopell contributed to this report.

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
Five Filters featured site: So, Why is Wikileaks a Good Thing Again?.

Braun late on property tax bills

Posted: 06 Jan 2011 02:27 PM PST

Braun late on property tax bills

By Chris Fusco and Abdon M. Pallasch Staff Reporters Jan 7, 2011 02:33AM

Carol Moseley Braun paid five of her last six property tax bills late and was only 20 days away from having her taxes sold at auction, potentially threatening her ownership of her Hyde Park house.

The first installment of the mayoral candidate's 2008 taxes were nearly a year-and-a-half overdue when she paid them on Aug. 16, 2010, and avoided a tax sale, according to Cook County Treasurer's records. Braun paid her most recent bill on time — after she announced her campaign for mayor.

In the past three years, she has paid a total of $3,403.94 in penalties. Her taxes are now up to date.

Braun's house — which she bought for $1.7 million in 2006 and is now trying to sell for $1.9 million — has four mortgages, which she's said she took out to support her struggling organic-food company.

"She was balancing everything to keep her business going, trying to keep people employed," Braun spokeswoman Renee Ferguson said. "She is paid up [on her taxes]now. It was a personal sacrifice."

After initially refusing to release her tax returns, Braun has provided personal tax information this week, including portions of her 2006 and 2007 returns on Thursday. The documents, however, make no mention of her food company, and she has refused to say how many people it employs.

Braun paid no federal taxes in 2007 because of losses from a company called CMB One Corp. She paid $2,509 in self-employment tax in 2008 and $785 in 2009.

Property Tax

Saturday, January 8, 2011