As of September 1st, 2009, Illinois merchants will see changes in the sales and use taxes associated with candy, personal grooming and hygiene products and soft drinks.
What Once Was Food Now Isn’t
Candy and soft drinks, sold right there in the supermarket were once considered food (taxed at 1%). Not very good food, certainly not healthy for you in most cases, but food nonetheless. Not anymore. Items that fall within the designation of “Candy” as well as the expanded definition for “soft drinks” will be taxed at the higher general merchandise rate (6.25%).
Candy. Illinois law defines “candy” as follows: A preparation of sugar, honey, or other natural or artificial sweeteners, in combination with chocolate, fruits, nuts, or other ingredients or flavorings in the form of bars, drops or pieces. This would include items that range from gum and breath mints to choco...
By Charles M Cooper · August 10 2009
small business, sales tax, illinois, use tax
Government, Politics and the Economy
Small Business: The White House is Deaf to Our Needs
President Obama's decision to cut off aid to small business lender CIT Group is just the latest in a string of decisions that demonstrate Obama's indifference to small business. WSJ.com
Shlaes: Look to Reagan for a Way Out of the Recession
Bloomberg columnist Amity Shlaes suggests that with the similarity between the current recession and the economic woes of the early 1980s, the solution to those woes, lower taxes and higher interest rates, is worth looking at today. Bloomberg.com
Management and Operations
By Charles M Cooper · July 17 2009
small business brief, marketing, small business, economy
With most prices on the rise, many people are probably thinking, how can it get any worse? Well it can. In Illinois, on July 1, 2008 Cook County's sales tax has gone up to 10.25 percent which is now the highest of any major city in the country. With our struggling economy, no county in the United States is safe from increasing prices including sales tax. Todd Stroger is currently the Board President in Cook County, Illinois. The reason behind the tax increase in Cook County is to fund the Stroger Administration's massive $150 spending increase over last year's budget which includes more than 1100 new county employees. So where is this massive amount of spending money going? Well, the Daily Herald newspaper explains claims that Stroger promised during his visit to Palatine and whether or not they actually are true. A truth behind what Stroger said is that Cook County provides police patrols, plowing and road services, Vista Health Care clinic services, infectious disease control and many oth...
By Lauren Calomino · July 15 2008
small business, sales, taxes, budget
