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Posted: Tuesday, March 13, 2012 5:09 pm | Updated: 7:50 pm, Tue Mar 13, 2012.

NEW SEWICKLEY TWP. Superintendent Ronald Sofo whose administration provided individual computers for high school students, Beaver Countys first Chinese language teacher and one of the countys lowest tax rates has submitted a letter of resignation to the Freedom Area School Board.

In a copy of the letter dated March 8 and forwarded to The Times, Sofo said his resignation is effective June 15, three days before he begins another position in public education. He would not reveal his new employer, but said his new employer will probably announce the appointment in early April.

Sofo has been at Freedom for more than 19 years, serving first as assistant superintendent to Robert Cercone. He is completing his 10th year as superintendent.

A diligent advocate for change in charter school funding and other issues at the state level, Sofo said that from his new position he may be able to have more impact on the things I see askew in public school policy.

From his new desk, he said he can get peoples attention in ways I couldnt as an administrator at Freedom Area.

Sofo submitted his resignation in an executive session after a school board meeting March 8 and then revealed his plan to administrators and staff March 9.

A resident of Pittsburghs Highland Park area, he said the 70-mile round trip to school each day was also a consideration.

If I lived 10 blocks away from Freedom, I would have never looked for anything else. Im older now, and the drive was a significant part of it.

Leaving will be difficult, he said.

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Sofo saying so-long to Freedom Area

A number of councils said they did not know whether all of their permanent staff were paid through PAYE but acknowledged that some were employed via limited companies.

Hammersmith and Fulham council said 11 posts were filled in this way while Craven in North Yorkshire had eight and St Edmundsbury in Suffolk and Ashfield in Nottinghamshire each had five.

Some of the officials employed in this way may be paying PAYE through their limited companies but have the option to pay themselves via dividends, which attract a lower tax rate. They can also pay national insurance contributions at a lower rate.

Margaret Hodge said she would pursue the matter.

"This is a tax avoidance scheme which is totally wrong," she told the BBC. "Where you are a public servant it's not right you should be paid in a way that avoids tax."

The investigation found that Nick Johnson became chief executive of Hammersmith and Fulham Homes Ltd in early 2008, with his 900-a-day fee paid into his company Davies Johnson Ltd - having taken up the post after retiring as chief executive of Bexley council in south London.

When opposition councillors raised concerns, accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers was asked to report on whether he the council risked facing a bill for unpaid tax.

In a confidential report seen by the BBC, it found that Mr Johnson's position meant he would normally be considered an "office holder" meaning that there was a "medium-to-high risk that there was a PAYE obligation" on the council.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council said in a statement that it did not believe Mr Johnson was required to be on its payroll and that the "procurement and deployment" of a total of 11 individuals through "personal service companies" was "effectively controlled and monitored" with the risk of tax and national insurance non-compliance "minimised".

Sir Merrick Cockell, chairman of the Local Government Association, said councils adhered to strict tax legislation and were obliged to employ skilled staff in a way to provide good value to residents.

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Council officials use 'tax avoidance schemes'

The price on carbon will be a massive political challenge. Source: The Advertiser

TREASURY Department modelling shows the carbon tax will cost the state up to 1500 jobs next year, the State Opposition says.

Liberal leader Isobel Redmond says the estimate is based on modelling the Opposition obtained through freedom of information.

"The impact of this insidious tax on the SA job market will have the effect of negating 75 per cent of the jobs created by the proposed Olympic Dam expansion in the next year," Ms Redmond said.

The Opposition asked a series of questions about the carbon tax in Parliament yesterday.

At one stage Employment Minister Tom Kenyon said he was not aware of any modelling on the impact of the carbon tax on employment.

Soon after, Ms Redmond used details from the Treasury Department modelling to ask Premier Jay Weatherill why he had supported the carbon tax when the Government's own figures showed the tax would cost 1500 jobs once implemented.

Mr Weatherill said the reason Labor supported putting a price on carbon was "because we want a future for our children". "The short-term costs associated with the implementation of a price on carbon will be nothing like the burden of adjustment that will fall upon this state," he said.

Mr Weatherill said what was most damaging for business was the lack of certainty about the future of a price on carbon. "So when a Commonwealth Government accepts its responsibilities and ... does something - which is to put a price on carbon - that is a massive political challenge."

Outside Parliament, Opposition treasury spokesman Iain Evans said it was obvious that the Employment Minister and the Treasurer, Jack Snelling, were not talking to each other.

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Carbon tax may cost state 1500 jobs

12 March 2012 Last updated at 21:13 ET By Fran Abrams Reporter, BBC Radio 4's File on 4

Almost 100 permanent posts at local councils are being filled by people paid through limited companies, the BBC has learned.

Dozens of high-earners are allowed to make their own tax arrangements rather than be paid through the PAYE system.

Public accounts committee chair Margaret Hodge described the situation as a "tax avoidance scheme, which is totally wrong".

The Local Government Association said councils adhere to strict HMRC rules.

BBC Radio 4's File on 4 programme submitted a Freedom of Information request to more than 400 local authorities throughout the UK.

Several councils said they did not know whether all of their permanent employees were paid via PAYE, but some acknowledged they did employ some staff through limited companies.

Hackney Council in London had the highest number, with 39 people in permanent posts paid through external companies.

This is a tax avoidance scheme which is totally wrong. Where you are a public servant it's not right you should be paid in a way that avoids tax

Hammersmith and Fulham Council in London said 11 posts were filled by people paid through personal service companies, and a number of smaller councils had substantial numbers too.

Read this article:
Council high earners 'avoid tax'

By Mike Nester For The Prairie Advocate News

MOUNT CARROLL The Carroll County Board of Review voted 2-0 to deny the Eastland School Districts protest and appeal of the real estate tax assessment in Freedom Township.

The three-member board heard Eastlands protest Monday morning, March 12, at a special hearing at the Carroll County Courthouse. Presenting Eastlands case was attorney Tim Zollinger.

Zollinger, whose presentation ran longer than the 20 minutes given, argued the county assessor had no legal authority to reassess Freedom Township and the equalization factor should only be eight percent, not nearly 20 percent.

Eastlands attorney also presented two appellate court cases from Jo Daviess County were individual property owners won decisions over the county assessor.

Carroll County States Attorney Scott Brinkmeier said he had studied the cases and felt they were not an equal comparison. Brinkmeier said the cases dealt with individual properties, not an entire township.

Zollinger said on a few occasions during the hearing that the appeal was not about getting more money for the Eastland School District but holding the assessor accountable.

Zollinger also unsuccessfully argued that according to tax code ILCS 200/9-75 the county assessor had no authority to assess Freedom Township prior to the annual four-year assessment.

However, the Illinois Dept. of Revenue (IDR) has already ruled that under ILCS 200/9-80 the Carroll County Office of Assessment had the legal obligation to assess Freedom Township based on the sales ratio study, which showed Freedom Township taxpayers would be paying 58.48 of their actual assessed value instead of the required 33.3 percent.

Board of Review member Judy Dampman said she agreed with the state saying everything was done correctly.

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Board of Review Denies Eastland Protest & Appeal