SB0403eng 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SB0403 Engrossed LRB100 04972 RJF 14982 b

AN ACT concerning government.

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

Section 5. The Freedom of Information Act is amended by adding Section 7.6 as follows:

(5 ILCS 140/7.6 new)

Sec. 7.6. Natural disaster credit. Nothing in this Act prohibits the disclosure of information by officials of a county or municipality involving reports of damaged property or the owners of damaged property if that disclosure is made to a township or county assessment official in connection with the natural disaster credit under Section 226 of the Illinois Income Tax Act.

Section 10. The Illinois Income Tax Act is amended by adding Section 226 as follows:

(35 ILCS 5/226 new)

Sec. 226. Natural disaster credit.

(a) For taxable years that begin on or after January 1, 2017 and begin prior to January 1, 2018, each taxpayer who owns qualified real property located in a county in Illinois that was declared a major disaster area in July of 2017 is entitled to a credit against the taxes imposed by subsections (a) and (b) of Section 201 of this Act in an amount equal to the lesser of $750 or the loss realized with respect to qualified property under Section 175 of the Internal Revenue Code. The taxpayer shall receive a certificate of exemption from the township assessor or, if the township assessor is unable to issue a certificate, the chief county assessment officer of the county in which the property is located. Property shall not be considered damaged unless the taxpayer has reported the property damage to the appropriate governing authority working in conjunction with the Illinois Emergency Management Agency or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or has applied for disaster relief with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for that property as a result of that natural disaster.

(b) In no event shall a credit under this Section reduce a taxpayer's liability to less than zero. If the amount of credit exceeds the tax liability for the year, the excess may be carried forward and applied to the tax liability for the 5 taxable years following the excess credit year. The tax credit shall be applied to the earliest year for which there is a tax liability. If there are credits for more than one year that are available to offset liability, the earlier credit shall be applied first.

(c) A partner or shareholder of a Subchapter S corporation shall be allowed a credit under this Section, which shall be determined 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.

(d) A taxpayer is not entitled to the credit under this Section if the property is reassessed under the Property Tax Code as a result of the natural disaster.

(e) As used in this Section, "qualified real property" means real property that is: (i) the taxpayer's principal residence or owned by a small business; (ii) damaged during the taxable year as a result of a declared disaster; and (iii) not used in a rental or leasing business.

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