Local Law Firms Home > Taxation Law News > County Offers $428,000 to Settle Excessive Taxation Claim La Salle County Board settled Monday to pay Exelon Corp. $428,000 of a $1.7 million court settlement that faulted the county of overtaxing the public. According to the resolution collectively passed by the full board, the “alleged excessive accumulation” happened in what the county levied for Social Security and Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund in tax years 2009 and 2010. “We have worked to correct the problem,” according to county board chairman Jerry Hicks. State law bans downstate counties from taxing beyond double the three-year average of what it has paid in IMRF and Social Security. In tax year 2009, the county levied $1.05 million and in 2010 it levied over $656,000 particularly from Exelon for Social Security and IMRF, which the business had supposed surpasses the county’s taxing authority. For a $90,000 property in La Salle County, that “alleged excessive accumulation” equals $11.04 in tax year 2009 and $6.88 in tax year 2010. Finance committee chairman Tom Ganiere (D-Ottawa) said the county had uncovered the issue in 2009 and had planned to fix things, but was unable to report it in a timely manner. By the next tax year, county financial leaders already had started altering the county budget to siphon money away from what would have been levied for Social Security and IMRF to decrease the amount sitting in those funds. Because of this, county taxpayers benefited in tax year 2011 and the present tax year with a lower tax rate because the county had overcharged in the previous two years. “We already have the problem corrected which is why Exelon agreed to pay less,” Ganiere state. “And because of the amount of money we had in hand in 2010, we were able to start paying it down which allowed us to lower the tax rate,” he added. Did you know? Smaller tax claims are usually settled quicker. If your claim involves $50,000 or less in disputed taxes, then you have the option of filing it as a small tax case. It is a case focused more on individuals, and the tax court representation procedures are not as complicated and it can be wrapped up much quicker.
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