HB1349 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB095 09839 BDD 30050 b

95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2007 and 2008
HB1349

Introduced 02/20/07, by Rep. Kurt M. Granberg

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 715/25
35 ILCS 5/211
35 ILCS 10/5-45

Amends the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act and the Illinois Income Tax Act. Provides that a taxpayer who has been awarded a credit under the Economic Development for a Growing Economy tax credit program may sell the credit in the secondary financial markets with 100% of the proceeds of the sale by the applicant to be used to offset the costs of the project. Amends the Corporate Accountability for Tax Expenditures Act and the Illinois Income Tax Act to make corresponding changes. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning revenue.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Corporate Accountability for Tax Expenditures Act is amended by changing Section 25 as follows:

(20 ILCS 715/25)

Sec. 25. Recapture.

(a) All development assistance agreements shall contain, at a minimum, the following recapture provisions:

(1) The recipient must (i) make the level of capital investment in the economic development project specified in the development assistance agreement; (ii) create or retain, or both, the requisite number of jobs, paying not less than specified wages for the created and retained jobs, within and for the duration of the time period specified in the legislation authorizing, or the administrative rules implementing, the development assistance programs and the development assistance agreement.

(2) If the recipient fails to create or retain the requisite number of jobs within and for the time period specified, in the legislation authorizing, or the administrative rules implementing, the development assistance programs and the development assistance agreement, the recipient shall be deemed to no longer qualify for the State economic assistance and the applicable recapture provisions shall take effect.

(3) If the recipient receives State economic assistance in the form of a High Impact Business designation pursuant to Section 5.5 of the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act and the business receives the benefit of the exemption authorized under Section 5l of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act (for the sale of building materials incorporated into a High Impact Business location) and the recipient fails to create or retain the requisite number of jobs, as determined by the legislation authorizing the development assistance programs or the administrative rules implementing such legislation, or both, within the requisite period of time, the recipient shall be required to pay to the State the full amount of the State tax exemption that it received as a result of the High Impact Business designation.

(4) If the recipient receives a grant or loan pursuant to the Large Business Development Program, the Business Development Public Infrastructure Program, or the Industrial Training Program and the recipient fails to create or retain the requisite number of jobs for the requisite time period, as provided in the legislation authorizing the development assistance programs or the administrative rules implementing such legislation, or both, or in the development assistance agreement, the recipient shall be required to repay to the State a pro rata amount of the grant; that amount shall reflect the percentage of the deficiency between the requisite number of jobs to be created or retained by the recipient and the actual number of such jobs in existence as of the date the Department determines the recipient is in breach of the job creation or retention covenants contained in the development assistance agreement. If the recipient of development assistance under the Large Business Development Program, the Business Development Public Infrastructure Program, or the Industrial Training Program ceases operations at the specific project site, during the 5-year period commencing on the date of assistance, the recipient shall be required to repay the entire amount of the grant or to accelerate repayment of the loan back to the State.

(5) If the recipient receives a tax credit under the Economic Development for a Growing Economy tax credit program, the development assistance agreement must provide that (i) if the number of new or retained employees falls below the requisite number set forth in the development assistance agreement, the allowance of the credit shall be automatically suspended until the number of new and retained employees equals or exceeds the requisite number in the development assistance agreement; (ii) if the recipient discontinues operations at the specific project site during the first 5 years of the 10-year term of the development assistance agreement, the recipient shall forfeit all credits taken by the recipient during such 5-year period; and (iii) in the event of a revocation or suspension of the credit, the Department shall contact the Director of Revenue to initiate proceedings against the recipient to recover wrongfully exempted Illinois State income taxes and the recipient shall promptly repay to the Department of Revenue any wrongfully exempted Illinois State income taxes; and (iv) if the recipient has sold the credit in the secondary financial markets under subsection (c) of Section 5-45 and the recipient defaults on its obligations under the agreement, then the credit remains valid in the hands of the purchaser, but the Department shall contact the Director of Revenue to initiate proceedings against the recipient to recover the entire amount of the credit, and the recipient must promptly pay to the Department of Revenue the entire amount of the credit. The forfeited amount of credits shall be deemed assessed on the date the Department contacts the Department of Revenue and the recipient shall promptly repay to the Department of Revenue any wrongfully exempted Illinois State income taxes.

(b) The Director may elect to waive enforcement of any contractual provision arising out of the development assistance agreement required by this Act based on a finding that the waiver is necessary to avert an imminent and demonstrable hardship to the recipient that may result in such recipient's insolvency or discharge of workers. If a waiver is granted, the recipient must agree to a contractual modification, including recapture provisions, to the development assistance agreement. The existence of any waiver granted pursuant to this subsection (c), the date of the granting of such waiver, and a brief summary of the reasons supporting the granting of such waiver shall be disclosed consistent with the provisions of Section 25 of this Act.

(c) Beginning June 1, 2004, the Department shall annually compile a report on the outcomes and effectiveness of recapture provisions by program, including but not limited to: (i) the total number of companies that receive development assistance as defined in this Act; (ii) the total number of recipients in violation of development agreements with the Department; (iii) the total number of completed recapture efforts; (iv) the total number of recapture efforts initiated; and (v) the number of waivers granted. This report shall be disclosed consistent with the provisions of Section 20 of this Act.

(d) For the purposes of this Act, recapture provisions do not include the Illinois Department of Transportation Economic Development Program, any grants under the Industrial Training Program that are not given as an incentive to a recipient business organization, or any successor programs as described in the term "development assistance" in Section 5 of this Act.

(Source: P.A. 93-552, eff. 8-20-03.)

Section 10. The Illinois Income Tax Act is amended by changing Section 211 as follows:

(35 ILCS 5/211)

Sec. 211. Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit.

(a) For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 1999, a Taxpayer who has entered into an Agreement under the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act is entitled to a credit against the taxes imposed under subsections (a) and (b) of Section 201 of this Act in an amount to be determined in the Agreement. If the Taxpayer is a partnership or Subchapter S corporation, the credit shall be allowed to the partners or shareholders in accordance with the determination of income and distributive share of income under Sections 702 and 704 and subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code. The Department, in cooperation with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, shall prescribe rules to enforce and administer the provisions of this Section. This Section is exempt from the provisions of Section 250 of this Act.

(b) The credit shall be subject to the conditions set forth in the Agreement and the following limitations:

(1) The tax credit shall not exceed the Incremental Income Tax (as defined in Section 5-5 of the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act) with respect to the project.

(2) The amount of the credit allowed during the tax year plus the sum of all amounts allowed in prior years shall not exceed 100% of the aggregate amount expended by the Taxpayer during all prior tax years on approved costs defined by Agreement.

(3) The amount of the credit shall be determined on an annual basis. Except as applied in a carryover year pursuant to Section 211(4) of this Act, the credit may not be applied against any State income tax liability in more than 10 taxable years; provided, however, that (i) an eligible business certified by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity under the Corporate Headquarters Relocation Act may not apply the credit against any of its State income tax liability in more than 15 taxable years and (ii) credits allowed to that eligible business are subject to the conditions and requirements set forth in Sections 5-35 and 5-45 of the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act.

(4) The credit may not exceed the amount of taxes imposed pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of Section 201 of this Act. Any credit that is unused in the year the credit is computed may be carried forward and applied to the tax liability of the 5 taxable years following the excess credit year. The credit shall be applied to the earliest year for which there is a tax liability. If there are credits from more than one tax year that are available to offset a liability, the earlier credit shall be applied first.

(5) Unless the credit has been sold under subsection (c) of Section 5-45 of the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act, no No credit shall be allowed with respect to any Agreement for any taxable year ending after the Noncompliance Date. Upon receiving notification by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity of the noncompliance of a Taxpayer with an Agreement, the Department shall notify the Taxpayer that no credit is allowed with respect to that Agreement for any taxable year ending after the Noncompliance Date, as stated in such notification. If any credit has been allowed with respect to an Agreement for a taxable year ending after the Noncompliance Date for that Agreement, any refund paid to the Taxpayer for that taxable year shall, to the extent of that credit allowed, be an erroneous refund within the meaning of Section 912 of this Act.

(6) For purposes of this Section, the terms "Agreement", "Incremental Income Tax", and "Noncompliance Date" have the same meaning as when used in the Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act.

(c) The Department, in cooperation with the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, shall prescribe rules to enforce and administer the provisions of this Section. The rules must include, without limitation, procedures to allow a taxpayer who has been awarded the credit to sell the credit in the secondary financial markets with 100% of the proceeds of the sale by the applicant to be used to offset the costs of the project under the agreement.

(Source: P.A. 94-793, eff. 5-19-06.)

Section 15. The Economic Development for a Growing Economy Tax Credit Act is amended by changing Section 5-45 as follows:

(35 ILCS 10/5-45)

Sec. 5-45. Amount and duration of the credit.

(a) The Department shall determine the amount and duration of the credit awarded under this Act. The duration of the credit may not exceed 10 taxable years. The credit may be stated as a percentage of the Incremental Income Tax attributable to the applicant's project and may include a fixed dollar limitation.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), and except as the credit may be applied in a carryover year pursuant to Section 211(4) of the Illinois Income Tax Act, the credit may be applied against the State income tax liability in more than 10 taxable years but not in more than 15 taxable years for an eligible business that (i) qualifies under this Act and the Corporate Headquarters Relocation Act and has in fact undertaken a qualifying project within the time frame specified by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity under that Act, and (ii) applies against its State income tax liability, during the entire 15-year period, no more than 60% of the maximum credit per year that would otherwise be available under this Act.

(c) The Department, in cooperation with the Department of Revenue, must adopt rules to allow a taxpayer who has been awarded a credit under this Section to sell the credit in the secondary financial markets with 100% of the proceeds of the sale by the applicant to be used to offset the costs of the project. The rulemaking for any rule required under this subsection (c) must be initiated under Section 5-40 of the Illinois Administrative Procedures Act within 120 days after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.

(Source: P.A. 94-793, eff. 5-19-06.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.