skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

SD public defense duties shift from counties to state; SCOTUS appears skeptical of restricting government communications with social media companies; Trump lawyers say he can't make bond; new scholarships aim to connect class of 2024 to high-demand jobs.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The SCOTUS weighs government influence on social media, and who groups like the NRA can do business with. Biden signs an executive order to advance women's health research and the White House tells Israel it's responsible for the Gaza humanitarian crisis.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Midwest regenerative farmers are rethinking chicken production, Medicare Advantage is squeezing the finances of rural hospitals and California's extreme swing from floods to drought has some thinking it's time to turn rural farm parcels into floodplains.

Illinois Tax Day Rally Takes Aim at Corporate Tax Loopholes

play audio
Play

Tuesday, April 16, 2019   

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — An alliance of Illinoisans from all walks of life gathered on Tax Day, to call on Gov. J.B. Pritzker to close loopholes that enable corporations to dodge state taxes.

At a Chicago rally, people with the group Fair Economy Illinois demanded action in the state budget to stop corporations from hiding their profits in offshore tax havens. Anna Gaebler, a community organizer with the group, said at a time when Illinois has an $8 billion backlog of financial obligations, corporate tax loopholes are costing the state more than $1 billion in lost revenue each year.

"In our state, two-thirds of corporations pay no corporate income tax,” Gaebler said. “And meanwhile, we have a budgetary crisis. We've seen cuts to funding for public education, social services, mental health clinics - across the board."

Gaebler added the proposed progressive income tax would help address inequities in the state budget. But, she noted, that revenue wouldn't be available until after 2021, if the measure was approved by voters.

Opponents to changing the state income tax argue it could hurt middle-income families, and it wouldn't protect against any future tax increases.

Gaebler contended closing corporate tax loopholes in this year's budget would help shift the tax burden off low- to middle-income earners. But, she said, the governor's proposal includes raising revenue in other ways:

“Including taxing marijuana,” she said. “But it also includes some measures that really target consumers, especially middle-class and lower-income folks - for example, a raise on the cigarette tax and a plastic bag tax across our state."

The pressure is on state lawmakers, as the budget needs to be approved in the next six weeks. Companion bills filed this session, HB 2085/SB 115, would help address loopholes in offshore tax havens. Supporters estimate that could bring $318 million into the state.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Iowa families can apply for up to $7,600 a year for private school costs. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An ethics committee in the Republican-led Iowa House has dismissed a complaint filed by a group of community activists against a state lawmaker for hi…


play sound

Each spring, hundreds of thousands of California high school seniors have to figure out if they can afford to go to college in the fall - and two new …

Health and Wellness

play sound

A health care workforce shortage in New Hampshire is leaving Alzheimer's patients and their families with few options for treatment. Patients facing …


South Dakota ranks 49th in the country for its contribution to indigent legal defense costs, according to a 2023 report from the Indigent Legal Services Task Force. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

South Dakota is creating an Office of Indigent Legal Services after House Bill 1057 passed the Legislature with nearly unanimous support this month…

Environment

play sound

A Knoxville-based environmental group is voicing concerns over what it sees as an increasing financial strain imposed on taxpayers by nuclear weapons …

Environment

play sound

A bipartisan law set to take effect this summer prohibits foreign adversaries from buying Hoosier farmland. The signature of Gov. Eric Holcomb was …

Social Issues

play sound

Today, people across Arizona are voting in the Presidential Preference Election, a chance for registered Democrats and Republicans to choose their …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021