Bill Text: IL HB5563 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. In provisions concerning certificates of registration, removes a requirement that publicly traded corporations must provide the last 4 digits of the social security numbers of their Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and any other officer or employee with responsibility for preparing tax returns.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-04-08 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB5563 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-HB5563-Introduced.html

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99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2015 and 2016 HB5563 Introduced , by Rep. Ann Williams SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
35 ILCS 120/2a from Ch. 120, par. 441a
Amends the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. In provisions concerning certificates of registration, removes a requirement that publicly traded corporations must provide the last 4 digits of the social security numbers of their Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and any other officer or employee with responsibility for preparing tax returns.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning revenue.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Retailers' Occupation Tax Act is amended by
changing Section 2a as follows:
(35 ILCS 120/2a) (from Ch. 120, par. 441a)
Sec. 2a. It is unlawful for any person to engage in the
business of selling tangible personal property at retail in
this State without a certificate of registration from the
Department. Application for a certificate of registration
shall be made to the Department upon forms furnished by it.
Each such application shall be signed and verified and shall
state: (1) the name and social security number of the
applicant; (2) the address of his principal place of business;
(3) the address of the principal place of business from which
he engages in the business of selling tangible personal
property at retail in this State and the addresses of all other
places of business, if any (enumerating such addresses, if any,
in a separate list attached to and made a part of the
application), from which he engages in the business of selling
tangible personal property at retail in this State; (4) the
name and address of the person or persons who will be
responsible for filing returns and payment of taxes due under

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this Act; (5) in the case of a publicly traded corporation, the
name and title of the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating
Officer, and any other officer or employee with responsibility
for preparing tax returns under this Act, along with the last 4
digits of each of their social security numbers, and, in the
case of all other corporations, the name, title, and social
security number of each corporate officer; (6) in the case of a
limited liability company, the name, social security number,
and FEIN number of each manager and member; and (7) such other
information as the Department may reasonably require. The
application shall contain an acceptance of responsibility
signed by the person or persons who will be responsible for
filing returns and payment of the taxes due under this Act. If
the applicant will sell tangible personal property at retail
through vending machines, his application to register shall
indicate the number of vending machines to be so operated. If
requested by the Department at any time, that person shall
verify the total number of vending machines he or she uses in
his or her business of selling tangible personal property at
retail.
The Department may deny a certificate of registration to
any applicant if a person who is named as the owner, a partner,
a manager or member of a limited liability company, or a
corporate officer of the applicant on the application for the
certificate of registration is or has been named as the owner,
a partner, a manager or member of a limited liability company,

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or a corporate officer on the application for the certificate
of registration of another retailer that is in default for
moneys due under this Act or any other tax or fee Act
administered by the Department. For purposes of this paragraph
only, in determining whether a person is in default for moneys
due, the Department shall include only amounts established as a
final liability within the 20 years prior to the date of the
Department's notice of denial of a certificate of registration.
The Department may require an applicant for a certificate
of registration hereunder to, at the time of filing such
application, furnish a bond from a surety company authorized to
do business in the State of Illinois, or an irrevocable bank
letter of credit or a bond signed by 2 personal sureties who
have filed, with the Department, sworn statements disclosing
net assets equal to at least 3 times the amount of the bond to
be required of such applicant, or a bond secured by an
assignment of a bank account or certificate of deposit, stocks
or bonds, conditioned upon the applicant paying to the State of
Illinois all moneys becoming due under this Act and under any
other State tax law or municipal or county tax ordinance or
resolution under which the certificate of registration that is
issued to the applicant under this Act will permit the
applicant to engage in business without registering separately
under such other law, ordinance or resolution. In making a
determination as to whether to require a bond or other
security, the Department shall take into consideration whether

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the owner, any partner, any manager or member of a limited
liability company, or a corporate officer of the applicant is
or has been the owner, a partner, a manager or member of a
limited liability company, or a corporate officer of another
retailer that is in default for moneys due under this Act or
any other tax or fee Act administered by the Department; and
whether the owner, any partner, any manager or member of a
limited liability company, or a corporate officer of the
applicant is or has been the owner, a partner, a manager or
member of a limited liability company, or a corporate officer
of another retailer whose certificate of registration has been
revoked within the previous 5 years under this Act or any other
tax or fee Act administered by the Department. If a bond or
other security is required, the Department shall fix the amount
of the bond or other security, taking into consideration the
amount of money expected to become due from the applicant under
this Act and under any other State tax law or municipal or
county tax ordinance or resolution under which the certificate
of registration that is issued to the applicant under this Act
will permit the applicant to engage in business without
registering separately under such other law, ordinance, or
resolution. The amount of security required by the Department
shall be such as, in its opinion, will protect the State of
Illinois against failure to pay the amount which may become due
from the applicant under this Act and under any other State tax
law or municipal or county tax ordinance or resolution under

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which the certificate of registration that is issued to the
applicant under this Act will permit the applicant to engage in
business without registering separately under such other law,
ordinance or resolution, but the amount of the security
required by the Department shall not exceed three times the
amount of the applicant's average monthly tax liability, or
$50,000.00, whichever amount is lower.
No certificate of registration under this Act shall be
issued by the Department until the applicant provides the
Department with satisfactory security, if required, as herein
provided for.
Upon receipt of the application for certificate of
registration in proper form, and upon approval by the
Department of the security furnished by the applicant, if
required, the Department shall issue to such applicant a
certificate of registration which shall permit the person to
whom it is issued to engage in the business of selling tangible
personal property at retail in this State. The certificate of
registration shall be conspicuously displayed at the place of
business which the person so registered states in his
application to be the principal place of business from which he
engages in the business of selling tangible personal property
at retail in this State.
No certificate of registration issued to a taxpayer who
files returns required by this Act on a monthly basis shall be
valid after the expiration of 5 years from the date of its

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issuance or last renewal. The expiration date of a
sub-certificate of registration shall be that of the
certificate of registration to which the sub-certificate
relates. A certificate of registration shall automatically be
renewed, subject to revocation as provided by this Act, for an
additional 5 years from the date of its expiration unless
otherwise notified by the Department as provided by this
paragraph. Where a taxpayer to whom a certificate of
registration is issued under this Act is in default to the
State of Illinois for delinquent returns or for moneys due
under this Act or any other State tax law or municipal or
county ordinance administered or enforced by the Department,
the Department shall, not less than 60 days before the
expiration date of such certificate of registration, give
notice to the taxpayer to whom the certificate was issued of
the account period of the delinquent returns, the amount of
tax, penalty and interest due and owing from the taxpayer, and
that the certificate of registration shall not be automatically
renewed upon its expiration date unless the taxpayer, on or
before the date of expiration, has filed and paid the
delinquent returns or paid the defaulted amount in full. A
taxpayer to whom such a notice is issued shall be deemed an
applicant for renewal. The Department shall promulgate
regulations establishing procedures for taxpayers who file
returns on a monthly basis but desire and qualify to change to
a quarterly or yearly filing basis and will no longer be

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subject to renewal under this Section, and for taxpayers who
file returns on a yearly or quarterly basis but who desire or
are required to change to a monthly filing basis and will be
subject to renewal under this Section.
The Department may in its discretion approve renewal by an
applicant who is in default if, at the time of application for
renewal, the applicant files all of the delinquent returns or
pays to the Department such percentage of the defaulted amount
as may be determined by the Department and agrees in writing to
waive all limitations upon the Department for collection of the
remaining defaulted amount to the Department over a period not
to exceed 5 years from the date of renewal of the certificate;
however, no renewal application submitted by an applicant who
is in default shall be approved if the immediately preceding
renewal by the applicant was conditioned upon the installment
payment agreement described in this Section. The payment
agreement herein provided for shall be in addition to and not
in lieu of the security that may be required by this Section of
a taxpayer who is no longer considered a prior continuous
compliance taxpayer. The execution of the payment agreement as
provided in this Act shall not toll the accrual of interest at
the statutory rate.
The Department may suspend a certificate of registration if
the Department finds that the person to whom the certificate of
registration has been issued knowingly sold contraband
cigarettes.

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A certificate of registration issued under this Act more
than 5 years before the effective date of this amendatory Act
of 1989 shall expire and be subject to the renewal provisions
of this Section on the next anniversary of the date of issuance
of such certificate which occurs more than 6 months after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of 1989. A certificate of
registration issued less than 5 years before the effective date
of this amendatory Act of 1989 shall expire and be subject to
the renewal provisions of this Section on the 5th anniversary
of the issuance of the certificate.
If the person so registered states that he operates other
places of business from which he engages in the business of
selling tangible personal property at retail in this State, the
Department shall furnish him with a sub-certificate of
registration for each such place of business, and the applicant
shall display the appropriate sub-certificate of registration
at each such place of business. All sub-certificates of
registration shall bear the same registration number as that
appearing upon the certificate of registration to which such
sub-certificates relate.
If the applicant will sell tangible personal property at
retail through vending machines, the Department shall furnish
him with a sub-certificate of registration for each such
vending machine, and the applicant shall display the
appropriate sub-certificate of registration on each such
vending machine by attaching the sub-certificate of

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registration to a conspicuous part of such vending machine. If
a person who is registered to sell tangible personal property
at retail through vending machines adds an additional vending
machine or additional vending machines to the number of vending
machines he or she uses in his or her business of selling
tangible personal property at retail, he or she shall notify
the Department, on a form prescribed by the Department, to
request an additional sub-certificate or additional
sub-certificates of registration, as applicable. With each
such request, the applicant shall report the number of
sub-certificates of registration he or she is requesting as
well as the total number of vending machines from which he or
she makes retail sales.
Where the same person engages in 2 or more businesses of
selling tangible personal property at retail in this State,
which businesses are substantially different in character or
engaged in under different trade names or engaged in under
other substantially dissimilar circumstances (so that it is
more practicable, from an accounting, auditing or bookkeeping
standpoint, for such businesses to be separately registered),
the Department may require or permit such person (subject to
the same requirements concerning the furnishing of security as
those that are provided for hereinbefore in this Section as to
each application for a certificate of registration) to apply
for and obtain a separate certificate of registration for each
such business or for any of such businesses, under a single

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certificate of registration supplemented by related
sub-certificates of registration.
Any person who is registered under the "Retailers'
Occupation Tax Act" as of March 8, 1963, and who, during the
3-year period immediately prior to March 8, 1963, or during a
continuous 3-year period part of which passed immediately
before and the remainder of which passes immediately after
March 8, 1963, has been so registered continuously and who is
determined by the Department not to have been either delinquent
or deficient in the payment of tax liability during that period
under this Act or under any other State tax law or municipal or
county tax ordinance or resolution under which the certificate
of registration that is issued to the registrant under this Act
will permit the registrant to engage in business without
registering separately under such other law, ordinance or
resolution, shall be considered to be a Prior Continuous
Compliance taxpayer. Also any taxpayer who has, as verified by
the Department, faithfully and continuously complied with the
condition of his bond or other security under the provisions of
this Act for a period of 3 consecutive years shall be
considered to be a Prior Continuous Compliance taxpayer.
Every Prior Continuous Compliance taxpayer shall be exempt
from all requirements under this Act concerning the furnishing
of a bond or other security as a condition precedent to his
being authorized to engage in the business of selling tangible
personal property at retail in this State. This exemption shall

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continue for each such taxpayer until such time as he may be
determined by the Department to be delinquent in the filing of
any returns, or is determined by the Department (either through
the Department's issuance of a final assessment which has
become final under the Act, or by the taxpayer's filing of a
return which admits tax that is not paid to be due) to be
delinquent or deficient in the paying of any tax under this Act
or under any other State tax law or municipal or county tax
ordinance or resolution under which the certificate of
registration that is issued to the registrant under this Act
will permit the registrant to engage in business without
registering separately under such other law, ordinance or
resolution, at which time that taxpayer shall become subject to
all the financial responsibility requirements of this Act and,
as a condition of being allowed to continue to engage in the
business of selling tangible personal property at retail, may
be required to post bond or other acceptable security with the
Department covering liability which such taxpayer may
thereafter incur. Any taxpayer who fails to pay an admitted or
established liability under this Act may also be required to
post bond or other acceptable security with this Department
guaranteeing the payment of such admitted or established
liability.
No certificate of registration shall be issued to any
person who is in default to the State of Illinois for moneys
due under this Act or under any other State tax law or

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municipal or county tax ordinance or resolution under which the
certificate of registration that is issued to the applicant
under this Act will permit the applicant to engage in business
without registering separately under such other law, ordinance
or resolution.
Any person aggrieved by any decision of the Department
under this Section may, within 20 days after notice of such
decision, protest and request a hearing, whereupon the
Department shall give notice to such person of the time and
place fixed for such hearing and shall hold a hearing in
conformity with the provisions of this Act and then issue its
final administrative decision in the matter to such person. In
the absence of such a protest within 20 days, the Department's
decision shall become final without any further determination
being made or notice given.
With respect to security other than bonds (upon which the
Department may sue in the event of a forfeiture), if the
taxpayer fails to pay, when due, any amount whose payment such
security guarantees, the Department shall, after such
liability is admitted by the taxpayer or established by the
Department through the issuance of a final assessment that has
become final under the law, convert the security which that
taxpayer has furnished into money for the State, after first
giving the taxpayer at least 10 days' written notice, by
registered or certified mail, to pay the liability or forfeit
such security to the Department. If the security consists of

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stocks or bonds or other securities which are listed on a
public exchange, the Department shall sell such securities
through such public exchange. If the security consists of an
irrevocable bank letter of credit, the Department shall convert
the security in the manner provided for in the Uniform
Commercial Code. If the security consists of a bank certificate
of deposit, the Department shall convert the security into
money by demanding and collecting the amount of such bank
certificate of deposit from the bank which issued such
certificate. If the security consists of a type of stocks or
other securities which are not listed on a public exchange, the
Department shall sell such security to the highest and best
bidder after giving at least 10 days' notice of the date, time
and place of the intended sale by publication in the "State
Official Newspaper". If the Department realizes more than the
amount of such liability from the security, plus the expenses
incurred by the Department in converting the security into
money, the Department shall pay such excess to the taxpayer who
furnished such security, and the balance shall be paid into the
State Treasury.
The Department shall discharge any surety and shall release
and return any security deposited, assigned, pledged or
otherwise provided to it by a taxpayer under this Section
within 30 days after:
(1) such taxpayer becomes a Prior Continuous
Compliance taxpayer; or

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(2) such taxpayer has ceased to collect receipts on
which he is required to remit tax to the Department, has
filed a final tax return, and has paid to the Department an
amount sufficient to discharge his remaining tax
liability, as determined by the Department, under this Act
and under every other State tax law or municipal or county
tax ordinance or resolution under which the certificate of
registration issued under this Act permits the registrant
to engage in business without registering separately under
such other law, ordinance or resolution. The Department
shall make a final determination of the taxpayer's
outstanding tax liability as expeditiously as possible
after his final tax return has been filed; if the
Department cannot make such final determination within 45
days after receiving the final tax return, within such
period it shall so notify the taxpayer, stating its reasons
therefor.
(Source: P.A. 97-335, eff. 1-1-12; 98-496, eff. 1-1-14; 98-583,
eff. 1-1-14; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14; 98-974, eff. 1-1-15.)