The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. Add to that more than 3,000 tipsheets from our national conferences on how to cover specific beats or do specific stories and you have a resource that no reporter or editor should be without. These stories and tipsheets are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Logged-in members can view the tipsheets free online:
Search results for "tax board" ...
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Following the Money: From Grade School through College
This tipsheet discusses how to track education funding from grade school through higher education. The data sources used for example are the Illinois State Board of Education and Property Tax Revenue from the Illinois Department of Revenue. Lowenstein advises on where to look for education funding: local property taxes; commercial and industrial property taxes; local and federal governments; test scores by region; other supplemental income for schools
Tags: education; taxes; property taxes; department of revenue; education funding; testing; test scores
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State Data: Making it Work for You
Kevin Corcoran provides a great list of useful websites where you can find information and databases on state and local government (taxes, finances, salaries, etc.). This tipsheet also has examples on how to analyze databases (campaign finance, property taxes, etc.) by making spreadsheets. It also provides tips on how to get started on making spreadsheets as well as obtaining data.
Tags: state government; local government; budget; tax; legislatures; lawmakers; spreadsheets; datasets; attorney general; campaign contribution; octane-testing; litigation; property tax; unclaimed property; state board and commission; state employees; harassment; overtime; CAR
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Cracking open scams at City Hall
"This handout serves as a guide to using database reporting and public documents to get to the bottom of tax (assessment) scams and sweetheart leases."
Tags: tax board; tax breaks; assessment; property taxes; bids; bidding process
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Nonprofits; Deciphering the Documents
Nonprofits are becoming much more business like and sophisticated. The image of a do-gooder in a cramped office driving a beat up car and making $30K a year is no longer a reality... The OCR obtained thousands of pages of documents from more than 100 nonprofits to detail the exploding market in human body parts and to detail their links to for-profits firms. This tipsheet offers 13 tips and approaches to investigating a tax exempt organization.
Tags: charities; 990s; IRS; Internal Revenue Service; FOIAs; investment portfolios; self dealing; assets; board members; donated body parts