093_HB2801

 
                                     LRB093 09732 SJM 09973 b

 1        AN ACT concerning taxes.

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

 4        Section 5.  The Illinois Municipal  Code  is  amended  by
 5    adding Section 8-11-21 as follows:

 6        (65 ILCS 5/8-11-21 new)
 7        Sec. 8-11-21.  Municipal gas use tax.
 8        (a)  The  corporate  authorities  of  any municipality in
 9    this State may impose a use tax on the act  or  privilege  of
10    using  or  consuming  gas within the corporate limits of that
11    municipality that is purchased in  a  sale  at  retail.   The
12    ultimate incidence of and liability for payment of the tax is
13    on  the retail purchaser and nothing in this Section shall be
14    construed to impose a tax on the occupation of  distributing,
15    supplying,  furnishing,  selling,  or  transporting gas.  The
16    rate of the use tax on gas imposed on a retail purchaser by a
17    municipality under this Section shall not  exceed  $0.02  per
18    therm of gas used or consumed.
19        (b)  The  use  tax  authorized  by subsection (a) of this
20    Section may be levied only if the municipality does not  then
21    have  in  effect an occupation tax imposed on persons engaged
22    in the business of distributing,  supplying,  furnishing,  or
23    selling gas, as authorized by Section 8-11-2.
24        (c)  The   retail   purchaser   shall  pay  the  use  tax
25    authorized by this Section, measured by the amount of  therms
26    of  all gas delivered to the retail purchaser's premises, and
27    the  use  tax  shall  be  collected  by  the  public  utility
28    maintaining a place of business in this State and  making  or
29    effectuating the final delivery of the gas subject to the use
30    tax  to  the  retail  purchaser.   Any use tax required to be
31    collected pursuant to an ordinance authorized by this Section
 
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 1    and  any  such  tax  collected  by  a  public  utility  shall
 2    constitute  a  debt  owed  by  the  public  utility  to   the
 3    municipality. Public utilities shall collect the tax from the
 4    retail  purchaser  by  adding the tax to the gross charge for
 5    the act or privilege of delivering the  gas,  in  the  manner
 6    prescribed  by  the municipality.  The tax authorized by this
 7    Section shall constitute a debt of the  retail  purchaser  to
 8    the  public  utility that delivers the gas until paid and, if
 9    unpaid, is recoverable at law  in  the  same  manner  as  the
10    original  charge  for  the  delivery services.  If the public
11    utility fails to collect the use tax from the taxpayer,  then
12    the  taxpayer  is required to pay the use tax directly to the
13    municipality in the manner provided by the municipality.  The
14    municipality imposing the  use  tax  shall  provide  for  its
15    administration and enforcement.
16        (d)  For  purposes  of  the  use  tax  described  by this
17    Section:
18             "Person" means any individual, firm, trust,  estate,
19        partnership,  association,  joint  stock  company,  joint
20        venture,    corporation,   limited   liability   company,
21        municipal corporation, or political subdivision  of  this
22        State  or  a  receiver,  trustee,  conservator,  or other
23        representative appointed by order of any court.
24             "Public utility" means a public utility  as  defined
25        in Section 3-105 of the Public Utilities Act.
26             "Retail  purchaser"  means  any person who purchases
27        gas in a sale at retail.
28             "Sale at retail" means any sale of gas by a retailer
29        to a person for use or consumption, and not  for  resale.
30        For  this  purpose,  the term "retailer" means any person
31        engaged  in  the  business  of  distributing,  supplying,
32        furnishing, or selling gas.
33        (e)  Public  utilities  filing   tax   returns   with   a
34    municipality  under this Section shall, at the time of filing
 
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 1    the return, pay to the municipality the  amount  of  the  tax
 2    collected  under this Section, less a commission of 3%, which
 3    is allowed to reimburse the public utility for  the  expenses
 4    incurred  in keeping records, billing the customer, preparing
 5    and filing returns, remitting the tax, and supplying data  to
 6    the  municipality upon request.  No commission may be claimed
 7    by a public utility  for  tax  not  timely  remitted  to  the
 8    municipality.
 9        (f)  If  a person who receives gas in a municipality that
10    imposes a use tax on gas under this Section claims  to  be  a
11    reseller  of  the gas and not a retail purchaser, that person
12    shall apply to the municipality for a  resale  number.    The
13    applicant  shall  state  facts that show the municipality why
14    the applicant is not  liable  for  tax  under  any  ordinance
15    authorized  by  this  Section  on  the  use  of gas and shall
16    furnish such additional information as the  municipality  may
17    reasonably  require.  Upon  approval  of the application, the
18    municipality shall assign a resale number  to  the  applicant
19    and   shall  certify  that  number  to  the  applicant.   The
20    municipality may cancel any number that is  obtained  through
21    misrepresentation,  that  is used to use or consume gas which
22    in fact is not for resale, or that no longer applies  because
23    of  the  person's  having discontinued the making of resales.
24    Except as otherwise provided in  this  Section,  the  act  or
25    privilege  of  using or consuming gas in this State shall not
26    be made tax-free on the ground of being delivered for  resale
27    unless  the  person  has  an  active  resale  number from the
28    municipality and furnishes that number to the public  utility
29    in  connection with certifying to the public utility that any
30    delivery to that person is non-taxable  because  of  being  a
31    delivery for resale.
32        (g)  A municipality that imposes a use tax upon gas under
33    this  Section  and  whose  territory  includes all or part of
34    another unit of local government or a school district may, by
 
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 1    ordinance, exempt the  other  unit  of  local  government  or
 2    school district from those taxes.
 3        (h)  A municipality that imposes a use tax upon gas under
 4    this  Section  may,  by ordinance, (i) reduce the rate of the
 5    tax for persons 65 years of  age  or  older  or  (ii)  exempt
 6    persons 65 years of age or older from the tax.  Taxes related
 7    to  such  rate reductions or exemptions shall be rebated from
 8    the municipality directly to persons qualified for  the  rate
 9    reduction  or  exemption  as determined by the municipality's
10    ordinance.