Industry Groups File Lawsuit Opposing Chicago's New Bottled Water Tax CHICAGO (AP) -- Industry groups filed a lawsuit Friday opposing Chicago's new tax on bottled water -- one of the first of such taxes in a major U.S. city -- arguing the surcharge is unconstitutional and harms city businesses. Several beverage and retail associations filed the lawsuit in Circuit Court of Cook County just days after the 5-cents-a-bottle tax took effect on Jan. 1, asking the court to declare the tax invalid.

Fiscal Policy: Suddenly, the economy looks a bit sickly. Friday's jobs report, showing far weaker growth than expected and a surge in unemployment, was a case in point. America needs another tax cut, and fast. Payroll growth was a measly 18,000 vs. 70,000 expected by Wall Street economists. This, the Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us, is "basically unchanged" and the smallest gain in four years. Worse, the unemployment rate jumped to a two-year high of 5% from 4.7% -- a sign there's been a big change in the tone of the job market.

Because large one-time gains and big deductions that trigger the AMT are sometimes controllable, you may be able to avoid or minimize the impact of the AMT by planning ahead. Here are some practical suggestions. Time your capital gains. You may be able to delay an asset sale until after the end of the year, or spread a gain over a number of years by using an installment sale. If you're looking to liquidate an investment with a long-term gain, you should review your AMT consequences and determine what impact such a sale might have.

The AMT truly functions as an "alternative" tax system. It has its own set of rates and rules for deductions, which are more restrictive than the regular rules. It operates in parallel with the regular income tax system in that if you're already paying at least as much under the "regular" income tax as you would under AMT, you don't have to pay it. But if your regular tax falls below this minimum, you have to make up the difference by paying the alternative minimum tax.

Early-bird e-filers who like to warm up their tax-prep software as early as possible come January may need to be patient this filing season. Thanks to a last-minute move by Congress, it's likely the IRS will need to delay the start of processing for 2007 returns. That, in turn, may mean refund delays. Some 20 million Americans probably consider that a small price to pay. Thanks to Congress' last-minute alternative minimum tax patch (assuming President Bush signs the law as he has indicated he will), they're dodging the AMT bullet this year.

Blowing the whistle on big-time tax cheats could make some informants wealthy -- as long as they have hard evidence and plenty of patience. Just over a year ago, President Bush signed legislation authorizing the Internal Revenue Service to pay sharply higher rewards to tipsters in cases involving large amounts of money. In some cases, the reward could be as high as 30% of whatever the IRS collects.

If you don't file a return, you'll ultimately make matters worse. The IRS assesses a failure-to-file penalty as well as one for not paying your bill. The fees are reminiscent of loan-shark rates, assessed each month at a rate of 5 percent of your tax bill (4.5 percent late-filing fee plus 0.5 percent late-payment penalty). As the months roll by, these fees can ultimately reach up to 47.5 percent of your tax bill. Ouch!

States Look at Ways to Cut Burdensome Property Taxes, Other Measures to Aid Homeowners INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Maurice Gunyon thought he was set for his twilight years. He bought a deteriorating house on Indianapolis' north side, had it torn down and a new one built. The 73-year-old retired from his government job in 2004, thinking he was financially secure. His income included his pension, personal savings, Social Security and rent from the other side of his two-family house.