State of Illinois
90th General Assembly
Legislation

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[ Introduced ]

90_HB1093eng

      65 ILCS 5/8-11-2          from Ch. 24, par. 8-11-2
          Amends the Illinois  Municipal  Code.   Provides  that  a
      municipality  that imposes certain privilege taxes may reduce
      the rate of the tax or eliminate the tax for persons 65 years
      of age or older.
                                                     LRB9004058JSgc
HB1093 Engrossed                               LRB9004058JSgc
 1        AN ACT to amend the Illinois Municipal Code  by  changing
 2    Section 8-11-2.
 3        Be  it  enacted  by  the People of the State of Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:
 5        Section 5.  The Illinois Municipal  Code  is  amended  by
 6    changing Section 8-11-2 as follows:
 7        (65 ILCS 5/8-11-2) (from Ch. 24, par. 8-11-2)
 8        Sec.    8-11-2.  The   corporate   authorities   of   any
 9    municipality may tax any or all of the following  occupations
10    or privileges:
11             1.  Persons  engaged in the business of transmitting
12        messages by means of electricity or radio magnetic waves,
13        or fiber optics, at a rate not to exceed 5% of the  gross
14        receipts   from  that  business  originating  within  the
15        corporate limits of the municipality.
16             2.  Persons engaged in the business of distributing,
17        supplying,  furnishing,  or  selling  gas  for   use   or
18        consumption within the corporate limits of a municipality
19        of  500,000 or fewer population, and not for resale, at a
20        rate not to exceed 5% of the gross receipts therefrom.
21             2a.  Persons   engaged   in    the    business    of
22        distributing,  supplying,  furnishing, or selling gas for
23        use or consumption  within  the  corporate  limits  of  a
24        municipality  of  over  500,000  population,  and not for
25        resale, at a rate not to exceed 8% of the gross  receipts
26        therefrom.  If imposed, this tax shall be paid in monthly
27        payments.
28             3.  Persons engaged in the business of distributing,
29        supplying,  furnishing, or selling electricity for use or
30        consumption  within   the   corporate   limits   of   the
31        municipality, and not for resale, at a rate not to exceed
HB1093 Engrossed            -2-                LRB9004058JSgc
 1        5% of the gross receipts therefrom.
 2             4.  Persons engaged in the business of distributing,
 3        supplying,  furnishing,  or  selling  water  for  use  or
 4        consumption   within   the   corporate   limits   of  the
 5        municipality, and not for resale, at a rate not to exceed
 6        5% of the gross receipts therefrom.
 7        None of the taxes  authorized  by  this  Section  may  be
 8    imposed   with  respect  to  any  transaction  in  interstate
 9    commerce or otherwise to the extent to which the business may
10    not, under  the  constitution  and  statutes  of  the  United
11    States,  be made the subject of taxation by this State or any
12    political sub-division thereof; nor shall any persons engaged
13    in the business of distributing,  supplying,  furnishing,  or
14    selling  gas,  water,  or  electricity,  or  engaged  in  the
15    business  of  transmitting  messages  be  subject to taxation
16    under the provisions of this Section for  those  transactions
17    that  are  or  may  become  subject  to  taxation  under  the
18    provisions  of  the "Municipal Retailers' Occupation Tax Act"
19    authorized by Section 8-11-1; nor shall any tax authorized by
20    this Section be imposed upon any person engaged in a business
21    unless the tax is imposed in like manner and at the same rate
22    upon all persons engaged in businesses of the same  class  in
23    the  municipality,  whether privately or municipally owned or
24    operated.
25        Any of the taxes enumerated in this  Section  may  be  in
26    addition  to  the  payment  of money, or value of products or
27    services furnished to the municipality  by  the  taxpayer  as
28    compensation  for  the  use  of its streets, alleys, or other
29    public  places,  or  installation  and  maintenance  therein,
30    thereon  or  thereunder  of  poles,  wires,  pipes  or  other
31    equipment used in the operation of the taxpayer's business.
32        (a)  If  the  corporate  authorities  of  any  home  rule
33    municipality have adopted an ordinance that imposed a tax  on
34    public  utility  customers, between July 1, 1971, and October
HB1093 Engrossed            -3-                LRB9004058JSgc
 1    1, 1981, on the good faith belief that they  were  exercising
 2    authority  pursuant  to  Section 6 of Article VII of the 1970
 3    Illinois  Constitution,  that   action   of   the   corporate
 4    authorities    shall    be    declared   legal   and   valid,
 5    notwithstanding a  later  decision  of  a  judicial  tribunal
 6    declaring  the  ordinance  invalid.  No municipality shall be
 7    required to rebate, refund, or issue credits  for  any  taxes
 8    described  in this paragraph, and those taxes shall be deemed
 9    to have been levied and  collected  in  accordance  with  the
10    Constitution and laws of this State.
11        (b)  In  any case in which (i) prior to October 19, 1979,
12    the corporate authorities of any municipality have adopted an
13    ordinance imposing a tax authorized by this  Section  (or  by
14    the predecessor provision of the "Revised Cities and Villages
15    Act")  and  have  explicitly or in practice interpreted gross
16    receipts to include either charges added to customers'  bills
17    pursuant  to  the provision of paragraph (a) of Section 36 of
18    the Public Utilities Act or charges added to customers' bills
19    by taxpayers who are not subject to rate  regulation  by  the
20    Illinois  Commerce  Commission  for the purpose of recovering
21    any of the tax liabilities or other amounts specified in such
22    paragraph (a) of Section 36 of that Act, and (ii) on or after
23    October 19, 1979, a judicial  tribunal  has  construed  gross
24    receipts  to  exclude  all  or  part  of  those charges, then
25    neither those municipality nor any taxpayer who paid the  tax
26    shall be required to rebate, refund, or issue credits for any
27    tax  imposed  or  charge collected from customers pursuant to
28    the municipality's interpretation prior to October 19,  1979.
29    This  paragraph  reflects a legislative finding that it would
30    be contrary to the public interest to require a  municipality
31    or  its  taxpayers to refund taxes or charges attributable to
32    the municipality's more  inclusive  interpretation  of  gross
33    receipts  prior  to  October 19, 1979, and is not intended to
34    prescribe or limit judicial construction of this Section. The
HB1093 Engrossed            -4-                LRB9004058JSgc
 1    legislative finding set forth in  this  subsection  does  not
 2    apply  to  taxes  imposed  after  the  effective date of this
 3    amendatory Act of 1995.
 4        (c)  (Blank).
 5        (d)  For the purpose of  the  taxes  enumerated  in  this
 6    Section:
 7        "Gross receipts" means the consideration received for the
 8    transmission  of  messages,  the  consideration  received for
 9    distributing, supplying, furnishing or selling gas for use or
10    consumption  and  not  for  resale,  and  the   consideration
11    received  for  distributing, supplying, furnishing or selling
12    electricity for use or consumption and not  for  resale,  and
13    the   consideration  received  for  distributing,  supplying,
14    furnishing or selling water for use or  consumption  and  not
15    for  resale,  and  for  all  services  rendered in connection
16    therewith valued in  money,  whether  received  in  money  or
17    otherwise,  including  cash, credit, services and property of
18    every  kind  and  material  and  for  all  services  rendered
19    therewith, and shall be determined without any  deduction  on
20    account  of  the  cost of transmitting such messages, without
21    any deduction on account of the cost of the service,  product
22    or  commodity  supplied, the cost of materials used, labor or
23    service  cost,  or  any  other  expenses  whatsoever.  "Gross
24    receipts" shall not include that portion of the consideration
25    received for distributing, supplying, furnishing, or  selling
26    gas,  electricity,  or  water  to, or for the transmission of
27    messages for, business enterprises described in paragraph (e)
28    of this Section to the extent and during the period in  which
29    the exemption authorized by paragraph (e) is in effect or for
30    persons  65 years of age or older, school districts, or units
31    of local government described in  paragraph  (f)  during  the
32    period in which the exemption authorized in paragraph  (f) is
33    in effect.
34        For  utility  bills  issued  on or after May 1, 1996, but
HB1093 Engrossed            -5-                LRB9004058JSgc
 1    before May 1, 1997,  and  for  receipts  from  those  utility
 2    bills,  "gross  receipts"  does  not include one-third of (i)
 3    amounts added to customers' bills under Section 9-222 of  the
 4    Public  Utilities  Act,  or  (ii) amounts added to customers'
 5    bills by taxpayers who are not subject to rate regulation  by
 6    the   Illinois   Commerce   Commission  for  the  purpose  of
 7    recovering any of the tax liabilities  described  in  Section
 8    9-222  of  the Public Utilities Act. For utility bills issued
 9    on or after May 1, 1997, but before  May  1,  1998,  and  for
10    receipts  from those utility bills, "gross receipts" does not
11    include two-thirds of (i) amounts added to  customers'  bills
12    under  Section  9-222  of  the  Public Utilities Act, or (ii)
13    amount added to customers' bills by  taxpayers  who  are  not
14    subject   to   rate   regulation  by  the  Illinois  Commerce
15    Commission for the purpose  of  recovering  any  of  the  tax
16    liabilities   described   in  Section  9-222  of  the  Public
17    Utilities Act. For utility bills issued on or  after  May  1,
18    1998,  and  for  receipts  from  those  utility bills, "gross
19    receipts" does not include (i) amounts  added  to  customers'
20    bills  under  Section  9-222  of the Public Utilities Act, or
21    (ii) amounts added to customers' bills by taxpayers  who  are
22    not  subject  to  rate  regulation  by  the Illinois Commerce
23    Commission for the purpose  of  recovering  any  of  the  tax
24    liabilities   described   in  Section  9-222  of  the  Public
25    Utilities Act.
26        For purposes of this Section "gross receipts"  shall  not
27    include  (i)  amounts added to customers' bills under Section
28    9-221 of the Public Utilities Act, or (ii) charges  added  to
29    customers'  bills  to recover the surcharge imposed under the
30    Emergency  Telephone  System  Act.  This  paragraph  is   not
31    intended  to  nor  does  it make any change in the meaning of
32    "gross receipts" for the purposes of  this  Section,  but  is
33    intended  to  remove possible ambiguities, thereby confirming
34    the  existing  meaning  of  "gross  receipts"  prior  to  the
HB1093 Engrossed            -6-                LRB9004058JSgc
 1    effective date of this amendatory Act of 1995.
 2        The words "transmitting messages",  in  addition  to  the
 3    usual  and popular meaning of person to person communication,
 4    shall  include  the  furnishing,  for  a  consideration,   of
 5    services or facilities (whether owned or leased), or both, to
 6    persons in connection with the transmission of messages where
 7    those  persons  do not, in turn, receive any consideration in
 8    connection therewith, but shall not include  such  furnishing
 9    of  services or facilities to persons for the transmission of
10    messages to the extent that any such services  or  facilities
11    for   the  transmission  of  messages  are  furnished  for  a
12    consideration, by those persons to  other  persons,  for  the
13    transmission of messages.
14        "Person"  as  used  in  this  Section  means  any natural
15    individual, firm, trust,  estate,  partnership,  association,
16    joint  stock company, joint adventure, corporation, municipal
17    corporation or political subdivision  of  this  State,  or  a
18    receiver, trustee, guardian or other representative appointed
19    by order of any court.
20        "Public utility" shall have the meaning ascribed to it in
21    Section  3-105  of the Public Utilities Act and shall include
22    telecommunications carriers as defined in Section  13-202  of
23    that Act.
24        In  the  case  of  persons  engaged  in  the  business of
25    transmitting messages through the use  of  mobile  equipment,
26    such   as  cellular  phones  and  paging  systems,  the gross
27    receipts from the  business  shall  be  deemed  to  originate
28    within  the  corporate  limits  of a municipality only if the
29    address to which the bills for the service are sent is within
30    those corporate limits. If,  however,  that  address  is  not
31    located  within  a municipality that imposes a tax under this
32    Section, then (i) if the party responsible for  the  bill  is
33    not an individual, the gross receipts from the business shall
34    be  deemed  to  originate  within the corporate limits of the
HB1093 Engrossed            -7-                LRB9004058JSgc
 1    municipality where that party's principal place  of  business
 2    in Illinois is located, and (ii) if the party responsible for
 3    the  bill  is  an  individual,  the  gross  receipts from the
 4    business shall be deemed to originate  within  the  corporate
 5    limits  of  the  municipality  where  that  party's principal
 6    residence in Illinois is located.
 7        (e)  Any municipality  that  imposes  taxes  upon  public
 8    utilities  pursuant  to this Section whose territory includes
 9    any part  of  an  enterprise  zone  or  federally  designated
10    Foreign Trade Zone or Sub-Zone may, by a majority vote of its
11    corporate  authorities,  exempt from those taxes for a period
12    not exceeding 20 years  any  specified  percentage  of  gross
13    receipts   of   public   utilities   received  from  business
14    enterprises that:
15             (1)  either (i)  make  investments  that  cause  the
16        creation of a minimum of 200 full-time equivalent jobs in
17        Illinois   or   (ii)  make  investments  that  cause  the
18        retention  of  a  minimum  of  1,000  full-time  jobs  in
19        Illinois; and
20             (2)  are either (i) located in  an  Enterprise  Zone
21        established  pursuant to the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act
22        or (ii) Department  of  Commerce  and  Community  Affairs
23        designated  High Impact Businesses located in a federally
24        designated Foreign Trade Zone or Sub-Zone; and
25             (3)  are certified by the Department of Commerce and
26        Community Affairs  as  complying  with  the  requirements
27        specified in clauses (1) and (2) of this paragraph (e).
28        Upon adoption of the ordinance authorizing the exemption,
29    the  municipal  clerk shall transmit a copy of that ordinance
30    to the Department of Commerce  and  Community  Affairs.   The
31    Department  of Commerce and Community Affairs shall determine
32    whether the business enterprises located in the  municipality
33    meet  the  criteria  prescribed  in  this  paragraph.  If the
34    Department of Commerce and Community Affairs determines  that
HB1093 Engrossed            -8-                LRB9004058JSgc
 1    the  business  enterprises  meet the criteria, it shall grant
 2    certification.  The  Department  of  Commerce  and  Community
 3    Affairs  shall act upon certification requests within 30 days
 4    after receipt of the ordinance.
 5        Upon certification of  the  business  enterprise  by  the
 6    Department  of Commerce and Community Affairs, the Department
 7    of Commerce and Community Affairs shall notify the Department
 8    of Revenue of the certification.  The Department  of  Revenue
 9    shall  notify the public utilities of the exemption status of
10    the gross  receipts  received  from  the  certified  business
11    enterprises.  Such exemption status shall be effective within
12    3 months after certification.
13        (f)  A   municipality  that  imposes  taxes  upon  public
14    utilities under this Section  and  whose  territory  includes
15    part of another unit of local government or a school district
16    may by ordinance exempt the other unit of local government or
17    school district from those taxes.
18        A  municipality  that imposes taxes upon public utilities
19    or telecommunications carriers under  this  Section  may,  by
20    ordinance,  (i)  reduce  the  rate  of the tax for persons 65
21    years of age or older or (ii) exempt persons 65 years of  age
22    or older from those taxes.
23        (g)  The  amendment  of this Section by Public Act 84-127
24    shall take  precedence  over  any  other  amendment  of  this
25    Section  by  any  other  amendatory  Act  passed  by the 84th
26    General Assembly before the  effective  date  of  Public  Act
27    84-127.
28        (h)  In  any case in which, before July 1, 1992, a person
29    engaged in the business of transmitting messages through  the
30    use  of  mobile equipment, such as cellular phones and paging
31    systems, has determined the  municipality  within  which  the
32    gross  receipts  from the business originated by reference to
33    the location of its transmitting or switching equipment, then
34    (i) neither the municipality to which tax was  paid  on  that
HB1093 Engrossed            -9-                LRB9004058JSgc
 1    basis  nor  the taxpayer that paid tax on that basis shall be
 2    required to rebate, refund, or issue credits for any such tax
 3    or charge collected from customers to reimburse the  taxpayer
 4    for  the tax and (ii) no municipality to which tax would have
 5    been paid  with  respect  to  those  gross  receipts  if  the
 6    provisions  of this amendatory Act of 1991 had been in effect
 7    before July  1,  1992,  shall  have  any  claim  against  the
 8    taxpayer for any amount of the tax.
 9    (Source: P.A. 88-132; 89-325, eff. 1-1-96.)

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