Perry Cooper (Bloomberg Law): Proposed Abolition of Illinois Tribunal Would Alter Tax Protests

Pritzker’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027, which was released Feb. 18, would merge the duties of the tribunal back into the department “as part of a statewide organizational realignment to streamline state operations.” That would reinstate the status quo before the tribunal was created in 2012.

If the tribunal is folded back into the the department, the taxpayer would go through the normal administrative remedies: audit, informal conference board, and administrative hearings, Harris said. Or the taxpayer could go straight to court, but would first have to pay the tax bill in protest, he said.

…

Now it’s up to the legislature to decide whether the tribunal—which received $711,000 in last year’s budget—should be eliminated, Harris said.

The business community lobbied for the tribunal because they were concerned they weren’t getting a fair shake when the entire dispute process was internal to the department, Harris said. “It does not mean that they were not handled equitably,” he said.

Although the Illinois Independent Tax Tribunal is an imperfect forum (e.g., within executive rather than judicial branch, lack of taxpayer confidentiality once in Tribunal, etc.), eliminating the Tribunal would represent a major step back for efficient and effective state tax administration. Especially given the constraints of the Tax Injunction Act, states should be working to create truly independent tax courts.