Article by: Michael J. Bologna
Read more from BNA Daily Tax Report.
A group of custom tailoring companies hopes to dismiss 17 lawsuits filed by a prolific tax whistleblower who alleges the defendants engaged in frauds designed to avoid sales and use tax obligations payable to Illinois.
The defendant tailors Feb. 28 filed motions in Cook County Circuit Court to dismiss actions filed under the Illinois False Claims Act by Chicago attorney Stephen B. Diamond, the most prolific tax whistleblower in the country. The actions claim the tailors, located primarily in Hong Kong, failed to collect and remit taxes on millions of dollars of transactions involving Illinois customers.
"The defendants couldn't have knowingly committed fraud where the Department of Revenue hasn't complied with their obligation to keep taxpayers informed," David S. Ruskin, a partner in the Chicago office of Horwood Marcus & Berk Chartered and counsel for all 17 defendants, told Bloomberg Tax.