Pace’s Higher Pre-tax Benefits Celebrated

As tax season begins, U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) joined Pace Chairman Richard Kwasneski and other local transit officials to encourage employers and mass transit commuters to take full advantage of a tax benefit that was strengthened and permanently extended by Congress late last year. The tax-free benefit could yield $1,000 annually in federal and state tax savings for qualified mass transit commuters.   Continue reading

Cloud Tax Gives Startups Sticker Shock

By: John Pletz, Crain’s Chicago Business Like shoppers getting a post-holiday credit card bill, tech companies are suffering sticker shock after finding out what the city’s cloud tax will cost them. Companies such as Amazon Web Services are warning their customers in Chicago that they’ll be collecting the city’s new 5.25 percent tax on their bills in the new year. For some companies, that could mean an annual tax in the six figures that will pinch profits or increase their burn rates, which could cause them to slow their rate of expansion. Continue reading

Letter to the Editor: Crain’s Chicago Business, Cloud Tax Gives Startups Sticker Shock in Chicago

Dear Editor, This letter is in response to John Pletz’s piece titled “Cloud tax gives startups sticker shock,” I’m pleased to avoid the chill in the air set by Chicago’s 5.25 percent cloud tax by choosing the warm and friendly business climate of DuPage County. Leaders in DuPage County have given us entrepreneurs abundant opportunities to expand our businesses without being burdened by excessive regulations and exorbitant taxes. Continue reading