Cook County Illinois Sweetened Beverage Tax Archives

Wrapping up July—and Looking Forward to August

SALT Activities for August:

August 2, 2017: Diann Smith is moderating a panel at the 50th Multistate Tax Commission Annual Conference in Louisville, Kentucky about “The Significance of the MTC – Past, Present, and Future – from the Outside.”

August 5, 2017: Stephen Kranz is presenting about Unclaimed Property at the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) SALT Task Force Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, and will cover the following topics:

Lessons learned from the first legislative season in which the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act was considered, and in some cases adopted in part.
The MoneyGram case, currently before the United States Supreme Court under its original jurisdiction to handle cases brought by one state against another, which may rewrite the rules regarding which state has priority over custody of unclaimed funds.

Wrapping up July:

Our July 2017 blog posts are available on insidesalt.com, or may be read below by clicking on the titles. To receive the latest on state and local tax news and commentary directly in your inbox as they are posted, click here to subscribe to our email list.

July 6, 2017: Connecticut Will Make You Disclose Personal Customer Data!

July 7, 2017: Tax Changes Implemented As Part of Revenue Package Supporting Illinois Budget

July 7, 2017: Illinois Unclaimed Property Law Substantially Revised As Part of Revenue Package Supporting Illinois Budget

July 12, 2017: Beverage Tax Wars Continue as Parties Head Back to Court for a Preliminary Injunction Hearing on the Cook County, Illinois Tax

July 13, 2017: What Is Minimal Substantial Nexus?

July 24, 2017: House Judiciary Subcommittee to Consider Sensenbrenner Bill Tomorrow

Beverage Tax Wars Continue as Parties Head Back to Court for a Preliminary Injunction Hearing on the Cook County, Illinois Tax

A legal challenge to Cook County Illinois Sweetened Beverage Tax (Tax) heads back to circuit court today for a hearing on the plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction. On June 30, Circuit Judge Daniel Kubasiak issued a temporary restraining order (TRO), halting Cook County, Illinois’ imposition of the Tax, which was to take effect on July 1. Judge Kubasiak found that the “Plaintiffs have persuaded the Court that a fair question exists as to the constitutionality” of the Tax.

Earlier this week, the plaintiff group, which includes the Illinois Retail Merchants Association and a group of retail food markets, successfully opposed the county’s emergency appeal of the TRO. In a ruling issued on Monday, July 10, the Illinois appellate court declined to set aside the TRO. While the fight is far from over, the Illinois rulings are a positive development for retailers, who have not succeeded to date in their efforts to defeat the Philadelphia sweetened beverage tax. See Opinion, Williams v. City of Phila., Nos. 2077 C.D. 2016, 2078 C.D. 2016 (Pa. Commw. Ct. June 14, 2017).

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