Section 696.101  Nature of the Municipal Motor Fuel Tax (Cook County)

 

a)         Authority to Impose Tax

Under the Municipal Motor Fuel Tax Law [65 ILCS 5/8-11-2.3] (Law), in addition to any other tax that may be imposed, a municipality in a county with a population of over 3,000,000 inhabitants may also impose, by ordinance, a tax upon all persons engaged in the municipality in the business of selling motor fuel, as defined in the Motor Fuel Tax Law [35 ILCS 505], at retail for the operation of motor vehicles upon public highways or for the operation of recreational watercraft upon waterways. The tax may be imposed, in one cent increments, at a rate not to exceed $0.03 per gallon of motor fuel sold at retail within the municipality for the purpose of use or consumption and not for the purpose of resale. The tax may not be imposed under this Section on aviation fuel, as defined in Section 3 of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act [35 ILCS 120].  The Municipal Motor Fuel Tax imposed under the Municipal Motor Fuel Tax Law is an occupation tax upon retailers of motor fuel and is administered by the Illinois Department of Revenue (Department) in the same manner as the Retailers' Occupation Tax. The tax imposed by a municipality under the Municipal Motor Fuel Tax Law and this Part, and all civil penalties that may be assessed as an incident of the Law and this Part, shall be collected and enforced by the Department.  A municipality, only part of which is located in a county with a population of over 3,000,000 inhabitants, qualifies as a municipality in a county with a population of over 3,000,000 inhabitants and is therefore authorized to impose the tax under the Law and this Part.  If, however, such a municipality imposes a tax under the Law and this Part, the tax must be imposed upon all persons engaged in the municipality in the business of selling motor fuel, in accordance with the Law, and not only those persons engaged in the business of selling motor fuel in the portion of the municipality located in a county with a population of over 3,000,000 inhabitants.

 

b)         Passing on the Tax

The legal incidence of the Municipal Motor Fuel Tax Law is on the seller. The General Assembly has authorized persons subject to any tax imposed pursuant to the authority granted in the Law to reimburse themselves for their Municipal Motor Fuel Tax liability by separately stating that tax as an additional charge.  The charge may be stated in combination, in a single amount, with State tax that sellers are required to collect under the Use Tax Act [35 ILCS 105], pursuant to such bracket schedules as the Department has prescribed (see 86 Ill. Adm. Code 150.Table A).  [65 ILCS 5/8-11-2.3]

 

c)         Exclusion from "Gross Receipts"

Any amount added to the selling price of motor fuel by the seller because of a Municipal Motor Fuel Tax shall not be regarded as a part of the seller's gross receipts that are subject to Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax or any local occupation tax administered by the Department.

 

Section 696.105  Registration and Returns

 

a)         Separate Registration Not Required

A retailer's registration under the Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax Act is sufficient for the Municipal Motor Fuel Tax Law.  No special registration for the Law is required.

 

b)         Requirements as to Returns

 

1)         The information required for the Law shall be furnished on the return form prescribed by the Department.

 

2)         On or before the twentieth day of each calendar month, every person engaged in the business of selling motor fuel, as defined in the Motor Fuel Tax Law, at retail in a municipality in Cook County that has adopted an ordinance imposing the tax under this Part for the operation of motor vehicles upon public highways or for the operation of recreational watercraft upon waterways during the preceding calendar month shall file a return with the Department for that preceding month, stating the name of the seller; the seller's address; the address of the principal place of business (if that is a different address) from which he or she is engaged in the business of selling that motor fuel at retail; total gallons of motor fuel sold; deductions allowed by law; and amount of tax due.

 

3)         If the retailer files his or her Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax returns on the gross receipts basis, he or she must report Municipal Motor Fuel Tax information in his or her returns on the same basis.  If the retailer files his or her Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax returns on the gross sales basis, he or she must report Municipal Motor Fuel Tax information in his or her returns on the gross sales basis.

 

Section 696.110  Claims to Recover Erroneously Paid Tax

 

Claims for Multiple Taxes.  If a claimant files a claim for refund on a transaction that was subject to State and local taxes administered by the Department, the claim need not be filed separately for each type of tax.  A single claim for the total of all applicable taxes will suffice.  The claim will be audited, heard, or otherwise processed as a single claim whenever possible.  A single credit memorandum will be issued that may be used by the claimant or his or her authorized assignee to pay State or local tax liability as authorized by 86 Ill. Adm. Code 130.1505(b)(1).

 

Section 696.115  Jurisdictional Questions

 

The substance and provisions of 86 Ill. Adm. Code 270.115 of the Home Rule Municipal Retailers' Occupation Tax Regulations which are not incompatible with the Municipal Motor Fuel Tax Law, shall apply to this Part. References to a "home rule municipality" or "municipality" in Section 270.115 mean "municipality" for purposes of this Section. References to the Home Rule Municipal Retailers’ Occupation Tax in Section 270.115 mean Municipal Motor Fuel Tax for purposes of this Part.  When used in this Part, "Municipality" includes all territory located within a municipality, and refers to all cities, villages or incorporated towns, including an incorporated town that has superseded a civil township, that are in Cook County and, therefore, authorized under the Municipal Motor Fuel Tax Law to impose a Municipal Motor Fuel Tax.

 

(Source:  Amended at 47 Ill. Reg. 2851, effective February 7, 2023)

 

Section 696.120  Incorporation of Retailers' Occupation Tax Regulations by Reference

 

To avoid needless repetition, the substance and provisions of all Retailers' Occupation Tax regulations (86 Ill. Adm. Code 130) that are not incompatible with the Municipal Motor Fuel Tax Law or any special regulations that may be promulgated by the Department under the Law shall apply to the tax imposed pursuant to this Part.

 

Section 696.125  Penalties, Interest and Procedures

 

All penalties (both civil and criminal), provisions concerning interest, and procedures (such as the making of assessments, the venue and mode of conducting hearings, subpoenas, matters pertaining to judicial review, and other procedural subjects), together with statutes of limitation, are the same under the Municipal Motor Fuel Tax Law as under the Illinois Retailers' Occupation Tax Act [35 ILCS 120] and the Uniform Penalty and Interest Act [35 ILCS 735].

 

Section 696.130  Effective Date

 

a)         An ordinance or resolution imposing or discontinuing the Municipal Motor Fuel Tax or effecting a change in the rate of that tax shall either:

 

1)         be adopted and a certified copy of the resolution filed with the Department on or before the first day of April, whereupon the Department shall proceed to administer and enforce this Part as of the first day of July next following the adoption and filing; or

 

2)         be adopted and a certified copy of the resolution filed with the Department on or before the first day of October, whereupon the Department shall proceed to administer and enforce this Part as of the first day of January next following the adoption and filing.  [65 ILCS 5/8-11-2.3]

 

b)         An ordinance adopted in accordance with the provisions of Section 8-11-2.3 of the Illinois Municipal Code in effect under P.A. 101-32 shall be deemed to impose the tax in accordance with the provisions of Section 8-11-2.3, as amended by P.A. 101-604, and shall be administered by the Department of Revenue in accordance with the provisions of Section 8-11-2.3, as amended by P.A. 101-604; provided that, on or before October 1, 2020, the municipality adopts and files a certified copy of a superseding ordinance that imposes the tax in accordance with the provisions of Section 8-11-2.3 of the Illinois Municipal Code, as amended by P.A. 101-604.  If a superseding ordinance is not so adopted and filed, then the tax shall be discontinued on January 1, 2021. [65 ILCS 5/8-11-2.3]  P.A. 101-32, effective June 28, 2019, authorized municipalities in Cook County to impose a motor fuel tax in a way that more closely follows the manner in which State Motor Fuel Tax is imposed (i.e., collected at the wholesale level).  P.A. 101-604, effective December 13, 2019, amended this provision to instead authorize municipalities in Cook County to impose a tax on the retail sale of motor fuel in the same manner as the County Motor Fuel Tax is imposed (see 86 Ill. Adm. Code 695).  In the interests of a smooth implementation of the tax, the Municipal Motor Fuel Tax Law deems municipal motor fuel tax ordinances adopted under the P.A. 101-32 wholesale structure to meet the P.A. 101-604 retail structure to allow for implementation on July 1, 2020.  If, however, the municipality does not thereafter adopt and file a superseding ordinance that imposes the tax in accordance with the Law, as amended by P.A. 101-604, on or before October 1, 2020, then the Department shall discontinue collection of the tax on January 1, 2021.

 

c)         For purposes of determining which tax rate applies, the date of the sale is deemed to be the date of the delivery of the property.