Free Republic

If you think making purchases online means you don’t have to worry about paying the state sales tax, think again. As the state continues to grapple with a big deficit the Illinois Department of Revenue this year has begun targeting those purchases on state tax forms and is seeking to collect. This year, for the first time, taxpayers are being asked how much they owe in so-called “use taxes” on the Illinois 1040 tax form. The law already required taxpayers to pay the “use” tax, but it wasn’t listed on the basic form. A use tax is a form of...

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Authorities raided 17 Chinese restaurants around Michigan that they suspect of ducking millions of dollars in taxes and importing undocumented workers as a "modern version of indentured servants." Search warrants were also served at 21 homes of suspected undocumented Chinese workers.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Authorities raided 17 Chinese restaurants around Michigan that they suspect of ducking millions of dollars in taxes and importing undocumented workers as a "modern version of indentured servants." Search warrants were also served at 21 homes of suspected undocumented Chinese workers. Dozens were involved in the scheme, State Police Lt. Curt Schram said. "It cost them X number of dollars to come to this country and they're trying to work off that debt," Schram said. Investigators believe one family or related families own the restaurants, which are mostly in the central and west-central areas of the...