99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB2933

 

Introduced 2/18/2016, by Sen. Michael E. Hastings

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
35 ILCS 120/11  from Ch. 120, par. 450

    Amends the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. Provides that, subject to certain restrictions, if the Department may disclose confidential financial information to a municipality, then the Department may also disclose that financial information to an independent third party who is authorized in writing by that municipality to receive the information.


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A BILL FOR

 

SB2933LRB099 15407 HLH 40726 b

1    AN ACT concerning revenue.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Retailers' Occupation Tax Act is amended by
5changing Section 11 as follows:
 
6    (35 ILCS 120/11)  (from Ch. 120, par. 450)
7    Sec. 11. All information received by the Department from
8returns filed under this Act, or from any investigation
9conducted under this Act, shall be confidential, except for
10official purposes, and any person, including an eligible third
11party, who divulges any such information in any manner, except
12in accordance with a proper judicial order or as otherwise
13provided by law, shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor with
14a fine not to exceed $7,500.
15    Nothing in this Act prevents the Director of Revenue from
16publishing or making available to the public the names and
17addresses of persons filing returns under this Act, or
18reasonable statistics concerning the operation of the tax by
19grouping the contents of returns so the information in any
20individual return is not disclosed.
21    Nothing in this Act prevents the Director of Revenue from
22divulging to the United States Government or the government of
23any other state, or any officer or agency thereof, for

 

 

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1exclusively official purposes, information received by the
2Department in administering this Act, provided that such other
3governmental agency agrees to divulge requested tax
4information to the Department.
5    The Department's furnishing of information derived from a
6taxpayer's return or from an investigation conducted under this
7Act to the surety on a taxpayer's bond that has been furnished
8to the Department under this Act, either to provide notice to
9such surety of its potential liability under the bond or, in
10order to support the Department's demand for payment from such
11surety under the bond, is an official purpose within the
12meaning of this Section.
13    The furnishing upon request of information obtained by the
14Department from returns filed under this Act or investigations
15conducted under this Act to the Illinois Liquor Control
16Commission for official use is deemed to be an official purpose
17within the meaning of this Section.
18    Notice to a surety of potential liability shall not be
19given unless the taxpayer has first been notified, not less
20than 10 days prior thereto, of the Department's intent to so
21notify the surety.
22    The furnishing upon request of the Auditor General, or his
23authorized agents, for official use, of returns filed and
24information related thereto under this Act is deemed to be an
25official purpose within the meaning of this Section.
26    Where an appeal or a protest has been filed on behalf of a

 

 

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1taxpayer, the furnishing upon request of the attorney for the
2taxpayer of returns filed by the taxpayer and information
3related thereto under this Act is deemed to be an official
4purpose within the meaning of this Section.
5    The furnishing of financial information to a municipality,
6upon request of the Chief Executive thereof, including the
7furnishing of financial information to an eligible third party
8as provided in this paragraph, is an official purpose within
9the meaning of this Section, provided the municipality and, if
10applicable, the eligible third party agree agrees in writing to
11the requirements of this Section. Information provided to
12municipalities under this paragraph shall be limited to: (1)
13the business name; (2) the business address; (3) net revenue
14distributed to the requesting municipality that is directly
15related to the requesting municipality's local share of the
16proceeds under the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the
17Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax
18Act, and, if applicable, any locally imposed retailers'
19occupation tax or service occupation tax; and (4) a listing of
20all businesses within the requesting municipality by account
21identification number and address. On and after July 1, 2015,
22the furnishing of financial information to municipalities
23under this paragraph may be by electronic means. If the
24Department may furnish financial information to a municipality
25under this paragraph, then the Chief Executive Officer of the
26municipality may in writing authorize the Department to

 

 

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1disclose that information to eligible third parties,
2including, but not limited to, consultants, attorneys,
3accountants, auditors, and financial advisors. The furnishing
4of financial information to an eligible third party is an
5official purpose within the meaning of this Section, provided
6the third party agrees in writing to the requirements of this
7Section and meets the criteria set forth in this paragraph. To
8be eligible to receive information from the Department, the
9third party (1) must enter into a confidentiality agreement
10with the Department prior to receiving the financial
11information, (2) must have an existing contract with the
12municipality at the time the third party enters into the
13confidentiality agreement with the Department, and (3) must
14abide by the same conditions as the municipality with respect
15to the furnishing of financial information. The third party may
16use the financial information only for the purpose of providing
17services to the municipality as specified in the contract with
18the municipality and may not use the information for any other
19purpose. Electronic data submitted to third parties under this
20paragraph must be encrypted and must be accessible only to
21authorized users with secure passwords.
22    Information so provided shall be subject to all
23confidentiality provisions of this Section. The written
24agreement shall provide for reciprocity, limitations on
25access, disclosure, and procedures for requesting information.
26    The Department may make available to the Board of Trustees

 

 

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1of any Metro East Mass Transit District information contained
2on transaction reporting returns required to be filed under
3Section 3 of this Act that report sales made within the
4boundary of the taxing authority of that Metro East Mass
5Transit District, as provided in Section 5.01 of the Local Mass
6Transit District Act. The disclosure shall be made pursuant to
7a written agreement between the Department and the Board of
8Trustees of a Metro East Mass Transit District, which is an
9official purpose within the meaning of this Section. The
10written agreement between the Department and the Board of
11Trustees of a Metro East Mass Transit District shall provide
12for reciprocity, limitations on access, disclosure, and
13procedures for requesting information. Information so provided
14shall be subject to all confidentiality provisions of this
15Section.
16    The Director may make available to any State agency,
17including the Illinois Supreme Court, which licenses persons to
18engage in any occupation, information that a person licensed by
19such agency has failed to file returns under this Act or pay
20the tax, penalty and interest shown therein, or has failed to
21pay any final assessment of tax, penalty or interest due under
22this Act. The Director may make available to any State agency,
23including the Illinois Supreme Court, information regarding
24whether a bidder, contractor, or an affiliate of a bidder or
25contractor has failed to collect and remit Illinois Use tax on
26sales into Illinois, or any tax under this Act or pay the tax,

 

 

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1penalty, and interest shown therein, or has failed to pay any
2final assessment of tax, penalty, or interest due under this
3Act, for the limited purpose of enforcing bidder and contractor
4certifications. The Director may make available to units of
5local government and school districts that require bidder and
6contractor certifications, as set forth in Sections 50-11 and
750-12 of the Illinois Procurement Code, information regarding
8whether a bidder, contractor, or an affiliate of a bidder or
9contractor has failed to collect and remit Illinois Use tax on
10sales into Illinois, file returns under this Act, or pay the
11tax, penalty, and interest shown therein, or has failed to pay
12any final assessment of tax, penalty, or interest due under
13this Act, for the limited purpose of enforcing bidder and
14contractor certifications. For purposes of this Section, the
15term "affiliate" means any entity that (1) directly,
16indirectly, or constructively controls another entity, (2) is
17directly, indirectly, or constructively controlled by another
18entity, or (3) is subject to the control of a common entity.
19For purposes of this Section, an entity controls another entity
20if it owns, directly or individually, more than 10% of the
21voting securities of that entity. As used in this Section, the
22term "voting security" means a security that (1) confers upon
23the holder the right to vote for the election of members of the
24board of directors or similar governing body of the business or
25(2) is convertible into, or entitles the holder to receive upon
26its exercise, a security that confers such a right to vote. A

 

 

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1general partnership interest is a voting security.
2    The Director may make available to any State agency,
3including the Illinois Supreme Court, units of local
4government, and school districts, information regarding
5whether a bidder or contractor is an affiliate of a person who
6is not collecting and remitting Illinois Use taxes for the
7limited purpose of enforcing bidder and contractor
8certifications.
9    The Director may also make available to the Secretary of
10State information that a limited liability company, which has
11filed articles of organization with the Secretary of State, or
12corporation which has been issued a certificate of
13incorporation by the Secretary of State has failed to file
14returns under this Act or pay the tax, penalty and interest
15shown therein, or has failed to pay any final assessment of
16tax, penalty or interest due under this Act. An assessment is
17final when all proceedings in court for review of such
18assessment have terminated or the time for the taking thereof
19has expired without such proceedings being instituted.
20    The Director shall make available for public inspection in
21the Department's principal office and for publication, at cost,
22administrative decisions issued on or after January 1, 1995.
23These decisions are to be made available in a manner so that
24the following taxpayer information is not disclosed:
25        (1) The names, addresses, and identification numbers
26    of the taxpayer, related entities, and employees.

 

 

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1        (2) At the sole discretion of the Director, trade
2    secrets or other confidential information identified as
3    such by the taxpayer, no later than 30 days after receipt
4    of an administrative decision, by such means as the
5    Department shall provide by rule.
6    The Director shall determine the appropriate extent of the
7deletions allowed in paragraph (2). In the event the taxpayer
8does not submit deletions, the Director shall make only the
9deletions specified in paragraph (1).
10    The Director shall make available for public inspection and
11publication an administrative decision within 180 days after
12the issuance of the administrative decision. The term
13"administrative decision" has the same meaning as defined in
14Section 3-101 of Article III of the Code of Civil Procedure.
15Costs collected under this Section shall be paid into the Tax
16Compliance and Administration Fund.
17    Nothing contained in this Act shall prevent the Director
18from divulging information to any person pursuant to a request
19or authorization made by the taxpayer or by an authorized
20representative of the taxpayer.
21(Source: P.A. 98-1058, eff. 1-1-15.)