The Chicago Traveler » taxes http://www.thechicagotraveler.com Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:08:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 Chicago Hit with Highest Sales Tax http://www.thechicagotraveler.com/2008/07/chicago-hit-with-highest-sales-tax/ http://www.thechicagotraveler.com/2008/07/chicago-hit-with-highest-sales-tax/#comments Wed, 02 Jul 2008 23:00:05 +0000 http://www.thechicagotraveler.com/chicago-hit-with-highest-sales-tax/ Post from: The Chicago Traveler

]]> Cook County encompasses the entire city of Chicago along with a number of suburbs. As of 2006, it was the second largest county by population in the country.[1] And now, at 10.25%, it has the highest sales tax in the country.

percentThe county board approved the tax raise back in February, coming into effect yesterday. It applies to clothes, alcohol, furniture, and restaurant food. Chicagoans could drive to neighboring counties where the tax isn’t so steep. But many Windy City residents have already cut back on driving in the face of the highest gas prices in the U.S. So many people are hoping to cut back where they can, make more purchases online, and do less shopping locally. Unfortunately, this makes small business owners nervous.

As for me personally, I’ve been saving where I can. Clipping coupons, buying in bulk, and even driving a bit out of my way to a good sale. You can check out The Chicago Traveler’s posts on budget-friendly hotels, cheap eats, and free Chicago attractions.

Photo credit: (c/o SXC) Przemyslaw Szczepanski

[1] (2008). Population Estimates for the 100 Largest U.S. Counties. Retrieved July 1, 2008, from U.S. Census Bureau. Web site: http://www.census.gov/

Post from: The Chicago Traveler

]]> http://www.thechicagotraveler.com/2008/07/chicago-hit-with-highest-sales-tax/feed/ 4 Top Ten Tax Procrastination Cities http://www.thechicagotraveler.com/2008/04/top-ten-tax-procrastination-cities/ http://www.thechicagotraveler.com/2008/04/top-ten-tax-procrastination-cities/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2008 11:00:01 +0000 http://www.thechicagotraveler.com/top-ten-tax-procrastination-cities/ Post from: The Chicago Traveler

]]> taxes accountsAre your taxes done? Or have you been scrambling these past few days (or hours) to meet the deadline? If you’re among the latter, you’re not alone.

Intuit, the maker of TurboTax products, put together a list of American cities that are full of procrastinators when it comes to filing federal income tax returns. And guess who’s at the top of that list? That’s right… Chicago. The list is established by the number of tax returns filed electronically by the TurboTax Online service from April 14-17, 2007. The top twelve cities are…

  1. Chicago, IL
  2. New York, NY
  3. Houston, TX
  4. Austin, TX
  5. San Francisco, CA
  6. San Diego, CA
  7. Seattle, WA
  8. Las Vegas, NV
  9. San Antonio, TX
  10. Los Angeles, CA
  11. …eh, I’ll finish the rest later.

Photo credit (via SXC): Steve Woods

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