[Added 9-24-2002 by Ord.
No. 9-2002]
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
following meanings:
The amount charged to the taxpayer's service address in the
City, regardless of where such amount is billed or paid.
The Illinois Department of Revenue.
The amount paid for the act or privilege of originating or
receiving telecommunications in the City and for all services and
equipment provided in connection therewith by a retailer, valued in
money whether paid in money or otherwise, including cash, credits,
services and property of every kind or nature, and shall be determined
without any deduction on account of the cost of such telecommunications,
the cost of the materials used, labor or service costs or any other
expense whatsoever. In case credit is extended, the amount thereof
shall be included only as and when paid. "Gross charges" for private
line service shall include charges imposed at each channel point within
this state, charges for the channel mileage between each channel point
within this state, and charges for that portion of the interstate
inter-office channel provided within Illinois. However, "gross charge"
shall not include:
Any amounts added to a purchaser's bill because of a charge
made pursuant to:
The tax imposed by this article;
The tax imposed by the Telecommunications Excise Tax Act (35
ILCS 630/1 et seq.);
The tax imposed by Section 4251 of the Internal Revenue Code;
911 surcharges; or
Charges added to customers' bills pursuant to the provisions
of 220 ILCS 5/9-221 or 5/9-222 of the Public Utilities Act, as amended,
or any similar charges added to customers' bills by retailers who
are not subject to rate regulation by the Illinois Commerce Commission
for the purpose of recovering any of the tax liabilities or other
amounts specified in those provisions of the Public Utilities Act;
Charges for a sent collect telecommunication received outside
of the City;
Charges for leased time on equipment or charges for the storage
of data or information for subsequent retrieval or the processing
of data or information intended to change its form or content. Such
equipment includes, but is not limited to, the use of calculators,
computers, data processing equipment, tabulating equipment or accounting
equipment and also includes the usage of computers under a time-sharing
agreement;
Charges for customer equipment, including such equipment that
is leased or rented by the customer from any source, wherein such
charges are disaggregated and separately identified from other charges;
Charges to business enterprises certified as exempt under 220
ILCS 5/9-222.1 of the Public Utilities Act to the extent of such exemption
and during the period of time specified by the Department of Commerce
and Economic Opportunity;[1]
Charges for telecommunications and all services and equipment
provided in connection therewith between a parent corporation and
its wholly owned subsidiaries or between wholly owned subsidiaries
when the tax imposed under this Act has already been paid to a retailer
and only to the extent that the charges between the parent corporation
and wholly owned subsidiaries or between wholly owned subsidiaries
represent expense allocation between the corporations and not the
generation of profit for the corporation rendering such service;
Bad debts ("Bad debt" means any portion of a debt that is related
to a sale at retail for which gross charges are not otherwise deductible
or excludable that has become worthless or uncollectible, as determined
under applicable federal income tax standards; if the portion of the
debt deemed to be bad is subsequently paid, the retailer shall report
and pay the tax on that portion during the reporting period in which
the payment is made.);
Charges paid by inserting coins in coin-operated telecommunication
devices;
Amounts paid by telecommunications retailers under the Telecommunications
Municipal Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Act (35 ILCS 635/1 et seq.);
or
Charges for nontaxable services or telecommunications if (i)
those charges are aggregated with other charges for telecommunications
that are taxable, (ii) those charges are not separately stated on
the customer bill or invoice, and (iii) the retailer can reasonably
identify the nontaxable charges on the retailer's books and records
kept in the regular course of business. If the nontaxable charges
cannot reasonably be identified, the gross charge from the sale of
both taxable and nontaxable services or telecommunications billed
on a combined basis shall be attributed to the taxable services or
telecommunications. The burden of proving nontaxable charges shall
be on the retailer of the telecommunications.[2]
All telecommunications that either originate or terminate
outside this state.
All telecommunications that originate and terminate within
this state.
Any natural individual, firm, trust, estate, partnership,
association, joint-stock company, joint venture, corporation, limited-liability
company, or a receiver, trustee, guardian, or other representative
appointed by order of any court, the federal and state governments,
including state universities created by statute, or any city, town,
county, or other political subdivision of this state.
The acquisition, consumption or use of telecommunications
through a sale at retail.
Includes every person engaged in the business of making sales
at retail as defined in this section. The Department may, in its discretion,
upon application, authorize the collection of the tax hereby imposed
by any retailer not maintaining a place of business within this state,
who, to the satisfaction of the Department, furnishes adequate security
to insure collection and payment of the tax. Such retailer shall be
issued, without charge, a permit to collect such tax. When so authorized,
it shall be the duty of such retailer to collect the tax upon all
of the gross charges for telecommunications in this state in the same
manner and subject to the same requirements as a retailer maintaining
a place of business within this state. The permit may be revoked by
the Department at its discretion.
Includes any retailer having or maintaining within this state,
directly or by a subsidiary, an office, distribution facilities, transmission
facilities, sales office, warehouse or other place of business, or
any agent or other representative operating within this state under
the authority of the retailer or its subsidiary, irrespective of whether
such place of business or agent or other representative is located
here permanently or temporarily, or whether such retailer or subsidiary
is licensed to do business in this state.
The transmitting, supplying or furnishing of telecommunications
and all services and equipment provided in connection therewith for
a consideration, to persons other than the federal and state governments,
and state universities created by statute and other than between a
parent corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries or between wholly
owned subsidiaries for their use or consumption and not for resale.
The location of telecommunications equipment from which telecommunications
services are originated or at which telecommunications services are
received by a taxpayer. In the event this may not be a defined location,
as in the case of mobile phones, paging systems, and maritime systems,
"service address" means the customer's place of primary use as defined
in the Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Conformity Act (35 ILCS
638/1 et seq.). For air-to-ground systems and the like, "service address"
shall mean the location of a taxpayer's primary use of the telecommunications
equipment as defined by telephone number, authorization code, or location
in Illinois where bills are sent.
A person who individually or through his or her agents, employees,
or permittees engages in the act or privilege of originating or receiving
telecommunications in the City and who incurs a tax liability as authorized
by this article.
In addition to the meaning ordinarily and popularly ascribed
to it, includes, without limitation, messages or information transmitted
through use of local, toll, and wide-area telephone service, private-line
services, channel services, telegraph services, teletypewriter, computer
exchange services, cellular mobile telecommunications service, specialized
mobile radio, stationary two-way radio, paging service, or any other
form of mobile and portable one-way or two-way communications, or
any other transmission of messages or information by electronic or
similar means, between or among points by wire, cable, fiber optics,
laser, microwave, radio, satellite, or similar facilities. As used
in this article, "private line" means a dedicated non-traffic-sensitive
service for a single customer that entitles the customer to exclusive
or priority use of a communications channel or group of channels,
from one or more specified locations to one or more other specified
locations. The definition of "telecommunications" shall not include
value-added services in which computer processing applications are
used to act on the form, content, code, and protocol of the information
for purposes other than transmission. "Telecommunications" shall not
include purchases of telecommunications by a telecommunications service
provider for use as a component part of the service provided by such
provider to the ultimate retail consumer who originates or terminates
the taxable end-to-end communications. Carrier access charges, right-of-access
charges, charges for use of intercompany facilities, and all telecommunications
resold in the subsequent provision of, used as a component of, or
integrated into end-to-end telecommunications service shall be nontaxable
as sales for resale. Prepaid telephone calling arrangements shall
not be considered "telecommunications" subject to the tax imposed
under this article. For purposes of this definition, "prepaid telephone
calling arrangements" means that term as defined in 35 ILCS 120/2-27
of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act.
(A)
A tax
is hereby imposed upon any and all the following acts or privileges:
(1)
The act or privilege of originating in the City or receiving in the
City intrastate telecommunications by a person at a rate of 6.0% of
the gross charge for such telecommunications purchased at retail from
a retailer.
(2)
The act or privilege of originating in the City or receiving in the
City interstate telecommunications by a person at a rate of 6.0% of
the gross charge for such telecommunications purchased at retail from
a retailer. To prevent actual multi-state taxation of the act or privilege
that is subject to taxation under this subsection, any taxpayer, upon
proof that the taxpayer has paid a tax in another state on such event,
shall be allowed a credit against any tax enacted pursuant to or authorized
by this section to the extent of the amount of such tax properly due
and paid in such other state which was not previously allowed as a
credit against any other state or local tax in this state.
(B)
The tax imposed by this article is not imposed on such act or privilege
to the extent such act or privilege may not, under the Constitution
and statutes of the United States, be made the subject of taxation
by the City.
(A)
The tax authorized by this article shall be collected from the taxpayer
by a retailer maintaining a place of business in this state and shall
be remitted by such retailer to the Department. Any tax required to
be collected pursuant to or as authorized by this article and any
such tax collected by such retailer and required to be remitted to
the Department shall constitute a debt owed by the retailer to the
state. Retailers shall collect the tax from the taxpayer by adding
the tax to the gross charge for the act or privilege of originating
or receiving telecommunications when sold for use, in the manner prescribed
by the Department. The tax authorized by this article shall constitute
a debt of the taxpayer to the retailer until paid, and, if unpaid,
is recoverable at law in the same manner as the original charge for
such sale at retail. If the retailer fails to collect the tax from
the taxpayer, then the taxpayer shall be required to pay the tax directly
to the Department in the manner provided by the Department.
(B)
Whenever possible, the tax authorized by this article shall, when
collected, be stated as a distinct item separate and apart from the
gross charge for telecommunications.
Commencing on February 1, 2003, the tax imposed under this article
on telecommunication retailers shall be returned with appropriate
forms and information as required by the Department pursuant to the
Illinois Simplified Municipal Telecommunications Tax Act (35 ILCS
636/5-50) and any accompanying rules and regulations created by the
Department to implement this Act.
(A)
If a person who originates or receives telecommunications claims
to be a reseller of such telecommunications, such person shall apply
to the Department for a resale number. Such applicant shall state
facts which will show the Department why such applicant is not liable
for the tax authorized by this article on any of such purchases and
shall furnish such additional information as the Department may reasonably
require.
(B)
Upon approval of the application, the Department shall assign a resale
number to the applicant and shall certify such number to the applicant.
The Department may cancel any number which is obtained through misrepresentation,
or which is used to send or receive such telecommunication tax-free
when such actions in fact are not for resale, or which no longer applies
because of the persons having discontinued the making of resales.
(C)
Except as provided hereinabove in this section, the act or privilege
of originating or receiving telecommunications in this state shall
not be made tax-free on the ground of being a sale for resale unless
the person has an active resale number from the Department and furnishes
that number to the retailer in connection with certifying to the retailer
that any sale to such person is nontaxable because of being a sale
for resale.
