(415 ILCS 135/65)

(Section scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2030)

Sec. 65. Drycleaning solvent tax.

(a) A tax is imposed upon the use of drycleaning solvent by a person engaged in the business of operating a drycleaning facility in this State at the rate of $10 per gallon of perchloroethylene or other chlorinated drycleaning solvents used in drycleaning operations, $2 per gallon of petroleum-based drycleaning solvent, and $1.75 per gallon of green solvents, unless the green solvent is used at a virgin facility, in which case the rate is $0.35 per gallon. The Board may determine by rule which products are chlorine-based solvents, which products are petroleum-based solvents, and which products are green solvents. All drycleaning solvents shall be considered chlorinated solvents unless the Board determines that the solvents are petroleum-based drycleaning solvents or green solvents.

(b) The tax imposed by this Act shall be collected from the purchaser at the time of sale by a seller of drycleaning solvents maintaining a place of business in this State and shall be remitted to the Department of Revenue under the provisions of this Act.

(c) The tax imposed by this Act that is not collected by a seller of drycleaning solvents shall be paid directly to the Department of Revenue by the purchaser or end user who is subject to the tax imposed by this Act.

(d) No tax shall be imposed upon the use of drycleaning solvent if the drycleaning solvent will not be used in a drycleaning facility or if a floor stock tax has been imposed and paid on the drycleaning solvent. Prior to the purchase of the solvent, the purchaser shall provide a written and signed certificate to the drycleaning solvent seller stating:

(1) the name and address of the purchaser;

(2) the purchaser's signature and date of signing; and

(3) one of the following:

(A) that the drycleaning solvent will not be used in a drycleaning facility; or

(B) that a floor stock tax has been imposed and paid on the drycleaning solvent.

(e) On January 1, 1998, there is imposed on each operator of a drycleaning facility a tax on drycleaning solvent held by the operator on that date for use in a drycleaning facility. The tax imposed shall be the tax that would have been imposed under subsection (a) if the drycleaning solvent held by the operator on that date had been purchased by the operator during the first year of this Act.

(f) On or before the 25th day of the 1st month following the end of the calendar quarter, a seller of drycleaning solvents who has collected a tax pursuant to this Section during the previous calendar quarter, or a purchaser or end user of drycleaning solvents required under subsection (c) to submit the tax directly to the Department, shall file a return with the Department of Revenue. The return shall be filed on a form prescribed by the Department of Revenue and shall contain information that the Department of Revenue reasonably requires, but at a minimum will require the reporting of the volume of drycleaning solvent sold to each licensed drycleaner. The Department of Revenue shall report quarterly to the Agency the volume of drycleaning solvent purchased for the quarter by each licensed drycleaner. Each seller of drycleaning solvent maintaining a place of business in this State who is required or authorized to collect the tax imposed by this Act shall pay to the Department the amount of the tax at the time when he or she is required to file his or her return for the period during which the tax was collected. Purchasers or end users remitting the tax directly to the Department under subsection (c) shall file a return with the Department of Revenue and pay the tax so incurred by the purchaser or end user during the preceding calendar quarter.

Except as provided in this Section, the seller of drycleaning solvents filing the return under this Section shall, at the time of filing the return, pay to the Department the amount of tax imposed by this Act less a discount of 1.75%, or $5 per calendar year, whichever is greater. Failure to timely file the returns and provide to the Department the data requested under this Act will result in disallowance of the reimbursement discount.

(g) The tax on drycleaning solvents used in drycleaning facilities and the floor stock tax shall be administered by the Department of Revenue under rules adopted by that Department.

(h) No person shall knowingly sell or transfer drycleaning solvent to an operator of a drycleaning facility that is not licensed by the Agency under Section 60.

(i) The Department of Revenue may adopt rules as necessary to implement this Section.

(j) If any payment provided for in this Section exceeds the seller's liabilities under this Act, as shown on an original return, the seller may credit such excess payment against liability subsequently to be remitted to the Department under this Act, in accordance with reasonable rules adopted by the Department. If the Department subsequently determines that all or any part of the credit taken was not actually due to the seller, the seller's discount shall be reduced by an amount equal to the difference between the discount as applied to the credit taken and that actually due, and the seller shall be liable for penalties and interest on such difference.

(Source: P.A. 101-400, eff. 7-1-20; 102-558, eff. 8-20-21.)