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Introduction: Two new BIPA Cases
Two Illinois Supreme Court decisions recently released,  Tims v. Black Horse Carriers, Inc., 2023 IL 127801 and Cothron v. White Castle Sys., Inc., 2023 IL 128004, have clarified the statute of limitations and the actionable number of violations for suits under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act, 740 ILCS 14/1 ff. (BIPA) This article describes the holdings and suggests ways to limit liability exposure which may result from the BIPA.
 
In Tims v. Black Horse Carriers, Inc., 2023 IL 127801, the Court held that the five year statute of limitations in 735 ILCS 5/13-205…
Continue Reading New Illinois Supreme Court Decisions Clarify Biometric Information Privacy Act

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Congress included the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) in the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2021. The legislation requires filing of information on beneficial owners of new (and eventually, of existing) US entities and foreign entities which apply for permission to do business in the US.  These requirements will be effective on promulgation of regulations by the U.S. Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). This agency is required to promulgate the regulations within one year from the 1/1/2021 date the legislation (P.L. 116-283) became law.
 
Due Dates For Reports
 
Existing companies will have to report beneficial ownership information…
Continue Reading New Federal Corporate Transparency Act Will Add Owner Disclosure Requirements For All Business Entities

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(Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay )

The CARES Act, Public Law 116-46, signed into law 03/27/2020, see https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/748, expanded unemployment benefits to include business owners and self-employed individuals. This means that you, as an owner or self employed individual with lost income as a result of Coronavirus shutdowns, can apply for Illinois unemployment insurance, in the same way as employees of firms covered by the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act can. This article explains how:

a. You can immediately file with the Illinois Department of Employment Security as a sole proprietor under your Social Security Number as employer and employee,…
Continue Reading Filing For Unemployment Insurance In Illinois As A Business Owner Or Self-Employed Individual

You are eligible to receive a government bailout!
Under “INCREASED ELIGIBILITY FOR CERTAIN SMALL BUSINESSES AND ORGANIZATIONS,” the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) explicitly notes that nonprofit organizations meeting the size limitation of “less than 500 employees.” Despite being called loans, the PPP actually provides free money, 100% backed by the federal government: as long as you prove you used it for eligible purposes, the lender must forgive the entire amount you can provide such proofs for. You can get up to 2.5x your monthly average payroll obligations covered, and use it for covering payroll, interest on a mortgage, rent, and/or…
Continue Reading CARES Act Bailout: Your Nonprofit Is Eligible

You are eligible to receive a government bailout!
Fellow indies, whether you are self-employed, independent contractors, or sole proprietors: this could be your salvation. The CARES act, passed into law as H.R.748, specifically makes the new paycheck protection loans available for “eligible self-employed individuals,” meaning anyone who works in a trade or business and who is not the employee of another employer, as defined in the IRS code section 1402. These loans are available for up to 2.5 times your average monthly net income as an independent contractor, and any amount used to pay yourself that doesn’t bring your annualized…
Continue Reading CARES Act Paycheck Protection Loans For Indies

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This is a summary of what the President signed on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, after it passed both houses. Employers of employees with 50-500 employees are affected. Department of Labor emergency regulations have not clarified what the “50 employee” amount means, but we do not appear to come within that category. Both for profit and nonprofit/religious employers appear to be covered, since DoL wage laws, not just unemployment insurance laws, are amended. The bill is supposed to come into effect within 15 days of Wednesday, March 18th. Some parts of the bill expanded unpaid family and medical leave for persons…
Continue Reading Summary of Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201)

By: William A. Price, Attorney at Law, wprice@growthlaw.com, Member, Business and Securities Law Section Council
Michael R. Karnuth, Attorney at Law, karnuthlaw@gmail.com, Member, Business and Securities Law Section Council
I. Introduction
As of 2016, there were 22,743 nonprofit organizations in Illinois. These entities range from hospital systems with over 1,000 employees to high school robotics teams with volunteer staff and limited budgets. The common characteristic of all is that none of these entities have owners. Rather, they are run by boards, trustees, or members for one or more of the purposes allowed under state not for profit laws.
Continue Reading Organizing an Illinois Not For Profit Entity

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You Could Lose Your Federal Income Tax Exemption: Corporate or trust income tax at the highest rate (21% for corporations, 35% for trusts, in 2019)[i] applies if a nonprofit entity fails to qualify, engages in prohibited transactions, or stops operations that are exempt from taxation.[ii] 378 entity 501(c)(3) exemptions are listed by the IRS as having been revoked through formal hearings since 2005, and many more of these and other types of exempt entities have had their exemptions automatically revoked for failure to file required tax forms.[iii] If your organization wants to become and remain exempt, it…
Continue Reading Nonprofit Killers No. 1: Loss of Federal Tax Exemption

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Corporate or trust income tax at the highest rate (21% for corporations, 35% for trusts, in 2019)[i] applies if a nonprofit entity fails to qualify, engages in prohibited transactions, or stops operations that are exempt from taxation.[ii] 378 entity 501(c)(3) exemptions are listed by the IRS as having been revoked through formal hearings since 2005, and many more of these and other types of exempt entities have had their exemptions automatically revoked for failure to file required tax forms.[iii] If your organization wants to become and remain exempt, it needs to be ready for a denial of…
Continue Reading Nonprofit Organization Killers No. 1: Loss of Federal Income Tax Exemption

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The Illinois Policy Institute has examined IRS data, and thinks this is a problem. Texas and Florida appear to be prime destinations, see https://www.illinoispolicy.org/reports/irs-data-show-continuing-illinois-wealth-flight/

The real problem appears, however,  to be attraction of new residents, since an aging population moving to warmer climates may have nothing to do with tax burdens, see https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-census-illinois-population-trend-leavers-met-20190925-55e2uha64rardg7pa5734u6twu-story.html

Past increases in income taxes have, somewhat unexpectedly, been associated with increases in high net worth tax filers in Illinois. It is lower income residents who are moving out for other opportunities, and not finding new jobs here. Restrictions on immigration probably have an effect on that…
Continue Reading Are High Net Worth People Leaving Illinois?

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The Illinois Supreme Court’s decision in Oswald v. Hamer (2018 IL 122203, 115 N.E.3d 181, 425 Ill.Dec. 626 (Ill., September 20, 2018)) upheld a General Assembly action changing the statute which was interpreted to deny a charitable use exemption for a hospital in the Provena Covenant Medical Center v. Department of Revenue, 236 Ill. 2d 368, 388, 339 Ill.Dec. 10, 925 N.E.2d 1131 (2010). (Amendment is 35 ILCS 200/15-86.) The Oswald court’s decision noted that it was upholding the amending statute as constitutional on its face, so…
Continue Reading Hospital And Other Illinois Property Tax Exemption Decisions In 2019

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Top Ten Church, Charity, and School Illinois Property Tax Exemption Mistakes
By: William A. Price, www.growthlaw.com

  • Don’t apply for property tax relief before you get your federal exemption letter. You have the burden of proof of exemption, and though the IRS “Good Housekeeping Seal Of Approval” is not enough to prove state qualification, it is a required part of the application packet.
  • Don’t apply if your zoning or building code compliance is wrong. Local taxing bodies get notice of property tax exemption requests, and if your site is not correctly zoned, you may have local use prohibitions, not just property

    • …
    Continue Reading Top Ten Church, Charity, and School Illinois Property Tax Exemption Mistakes

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    The practice of law has changed, starting in London, and moving fast around the world. The four biggest law firms are the “Final Four” accounting firms, with law licenses in many countries and over 10,000 lawyer employees collectively. British solicitors (their term for non-trial lawyers, where trial lawyers are barristers) firms like Eversheds, Allen & OIvery, Clifford Chance, and Wilmer Hale have founded “Alternative Legal Services” firms as a controlled part of their operations. Other ALS firms like United Lex have passed the “Unicorn” level of $1 billion per year in sales. Thompson Reuters, itself a major provider of alternative…
    Continue Reading Alternative Legal Services Markets Top $10 billion In Sales

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    Stock option plans and other stock plans let you compensate your employees or independent contractors for improving the value of the company without making them immediately liable for taxes on the value of their stock or options. There are several variations. These include:
     
    Classic stock options: Employee or Contractor purchase rights, exercisable immediately or after a vesting period. Company gets deduction and employee gets taxable income as capital gain when vests. If related persons (10% or more of company owned), then “Incentive Stock Options”, exercise price must be 110% or more of stock fair market value at time…
    Continue Reading Employee Stock and Stock Options Plans

    The Illinois General Assembly passed, and Governor Pritzker is expected to sign SB 75. This legislation:
    a. Increases information exchange between state departments concerning candidates for state licenses or those holding same whose licenses may be refused, revoked, or suspended as a result of commission of a civil rights violation.
    b. Specifies that a “hostile work environment” is not limited to a physical location where an employee is assigned to perform duties.
    c. Adds “actual or perceived” to  the protected categories “race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, marital status, order of protection status, disability, military status, sexual orientation, pregnancy,…
    Continue Reading Illinois General Assembly Adds Harassment Liability And Training Mandates

    The General Assembly repealed the 1/10 of 1% capital assets of business corporations franchise tax, and the Governor has signed the repeal, P.A. 101-0009. The tax disappears for amounts due below $30 in 2020, below $1,000 in 2021, $10,000 in 2022, $100,000 in 2023, and all amounts in 2024. The tax comes back in 2026 unless the repeal is renewed.
    The post Illinois General Assembly Repealed The Franchise Tax appeared first on GrowthLaw.
    Continue Reading Illinois General Assembly Repealed The Franchise Tax