Illinois is cracking down on businesses that don’t pay their sales taxes.
 
A proposal would make it a Class I felony for businesses that don’t pay more than $100,000 in sales taxes. State Sen. Jeff Schoenberg (R-Evanston) says he doesn’t want to target businesses that make mistakes or are having a hard time staying afloat. Instead he says he wants to target those who are purposefully destroying documents to keep from paying their fair share. That means less money the state desperately needs, he says.
 
“The basic needs of taxpayers when it comes to providing quality healthcare, quality education, opportunities and job creation,” Schoenberg says.
 
State Sen. Chris Lauzen (R-Aurora) says the proposal makes people unecessarily nervous.  m“What we have in this bill is another hammer. Another agency,” Lauzen says. “It’s an ambiguous definition that could expand in its implementation. It’s more fear for taxpayers.”
 
If the House concurs with the proposal it will go to the governor.
 
(Posted 5/28/2012 at 7:24am, Illinois Radio Network)