IL Cook County Approves Sales Tax Increase The governing board of Cook County, ILLINOIS narrowly approved a one-cent sales tax increase that will push Chicago’s rate over that of four Alabama cities and Seattle on Jan. 1, making it the highest rate of any major U.S. city, at 10.25 percent (CHICAGO...

Chicago to Consider Airbnb fee Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed an ordinance that would impose a 2-percent surcharge on home-sharing and vacation rentals like those offered through services like Airbnb and VRBO. The proposal also seeks to require home-sharing hosts to register with the city...

Ten states started the 2018 fiscal year on July 1 without a budget in place, according to the Tax Foundation. A partial government shutdown in one of those states, Maine, ended on the 4th of July when Gov. Paul LePage (R) signed a budget compromise eliminating a controversial 3 percent income tax surcharge...

ONLINE SALES TAX PLAN FAILS IN NH In response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s June ruling in South Dakota v. Wayfair , allowing states to collect sales taxes from online sellers located out-of-state, the NEW HAMPSHIRE Senate, meeting in special session, unanimously approved a bill ( SB 1 a ) that...

The older a state is, the more likely it is to have fiscal problems. That’s one of the findings of an analysis of state fiscal health by William Bergman, director of research for Truth in Accounting, a nonprofit that advocates for transparency in local, state and federal government finances. ...

MN GOV PROPOSES $1.3B IN BORROWING MINNESOTA Gov. Tim Walz (D) has proposed borrowing nearly $1.3 billion to provide more affordable housing, fix buildings on college campuses and repair transportation infrastructure. Although parts of the governor’s plan have broad appeal, the state’s...