This article shall be known as, and may be cited as, the "Locally
Imposed and Administered Tax Rights and Responsibility Article."
The provisions of this article shall apply to the City's procedures
in connection with all of the City's locally imposed and administered
taxes.
Certain words or terms used herein shall have the meanings ascribed
to them as follows:
ACT
The Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act.
CITY
The City of Columbia, Illinois.
LOCAL TAX ADMINISTRATOR
The City's Treasurer is charged with the administration and
collection of the locally imposed and administered taxes (including
staff employees or agents to the extent they are authorized by the
local tax administrator to act in the local tax administrator's stead).
The local tax administrator shall have the authority to implement
the terms of this article to give full effect to this article. The
exercise of such authority by the local tax administrator shall not
be inconsistent with this article and the Act.
LOCALLY IMPOSED AND ADMINISTERED TAX or TAX
Each tax imposed by the City that is collected or administered
by the City and not an agency or department of the state. It does
not include any taxes imposed upon real property under the Property
Tax Code or fees collected by the City other than infrastructure maintenance
fees.
NOTICE
Each audit notice, collection notice or other similar notice
or communication in connection with each of the City's locally imposed
and administered taxes.
TAX ORDINANCE
Each ordinance adopted by the City that imposes any locally
imposed and administered tax.
TAXPAYER
Any person required to pay any locally imposed and administered
tax and generally includes the person upon whom the legal incidence
of such tax is placed, and with respect to consumer taxes includes
the business or entity required to collect and pay the locally imposed
and administered tax to the City.
Any notice, payment, remittance or other filing required to
be made to the City pursuant to any tax ordinance shall be considered
late unless it is:
A. Physically
received by the City on or before the due date; or
B. Received
in an envelope or other container displaying a valid, readable U.S.
postmark dated on or before the due date, properly addressed to the
City, with adequate postage prepaid.
Any payment or remittance received for a tax period shall be
applied in the following order:
A. First to the tax due for the applicable period;
B. Second to the interest due for the applicable period; and
C. Third to the penalty for the applicable period.
Any request for proposed audit pursuant to any locally administered
tax shall comply with the notice requirements of this article.
A. Each notice of audit shall contain the following information:
(2)
The time period of the audit;
(3)
A brief description of the books and records to be made available
for the auditor; and
(4)
Identification as to who will be conducting the audit.
[Added at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions,
Art. I)]
B. Any audit shall be conducted during normal business hours; and if
the date and time selected by the local tax administrator is not agreeable
to the taxpayer, another date and time may be requested by the taxpayer
within 30 days after the originally designated audit and during normal
business hours.
C. The taxpayer may request an extension of time to have an audit conducted.
The audit shall be conducted not less than seven days nor more than
30 days from the date the notice is given, unless the taxpayer and
the local tax administrator agree to some other convenient time. In
the event the taxpayer is unable to comply with the audit on the date
in question, the taxpayer may request another date within the 30 days,
approved in writing, that is convenient to the taxpayer and the local
tax administrator.
D. Every taxpayer shall keep accurate books and records of the taxpayer's
business or activities, including original source documents and books
of entry denoting the transactions which had given rise or may have
given rise to any tax liability, exemption or deduction. All books
shall be kept in the English language and shall be subject to and
available for inspection by the City.
E. It is the duty and responsibility of every taxpayer to make available
its books and records for inspection by the City. If the taxpayer
or Tax Collector fails to provide the documents necessary for audit
within the time provided, the local tax administrator may issue a
tax determination and assessment based on the tax administrator's
determination of the best estimate of the taxpayer's tax liability.
F. If an audit determines there has been an overpayment of a locally
imposed and administered tax as a result of the audit, written notice
of the amount of overpayment shall be given to the taxpayer within
30 days of the City's determination of the amount of overpayment.
G. In the event a tax payment was submitted to the incorrect local governmental
entity, the local tax administrator shall notify the local governmental
entity imposing such tax.
In the event a determination has been made that a tax is due
and owing, through audit, assessment or other bill sent, the tax must
be paid within the time frame otherwise indicated.
A. The City provides for the amount of interest to be assessed on a
late payment, underpayment or nonpayment of the tax, to be 9% per
annum, based on a year of 365 days and the number of days elapsed.
B. If a tax return is not filed within the time and manner provided
by the controlling tax ordinance, a late filing penalty of 5% of the
amount of tax required to be shown as due on a return shall be imposed;
and a late payment penalty of 5% of the tax due shall be imposed.
If no return is filed within the time or manner provided by the controlling
tax ordinance and prior to the City issuing a notice of tax delinquency
or notice of tax liability, then a failure-to-file penalty shall be
assessed equal to 25% of the total tax due for the applicable reporting
period for which the return was require to be filed. A late filing
or payment penalty shall not apply if a failure-to-file penalty is
imposed by the controlling ordinance.
The local tax administrator shall have the authority to waive
or abate any late filing penalty, late payment penalty or failure-to-file
penalty if the local tax administrator shall determine reasonable
cause exists for delay or failure to make a filing.
The City may enter into an installment contract with the taxpayer
for the payment of taxes under the controlling tax ordinance. The
local tax administrator may not cancel any installment contract so
entered unless the taxpayer fails to pay any amount due and owing.
Upon written notice by the local tax administrator that the payment
is 30 days delinquent, the taxpayer shall have 14 working days to
cure any delinquency. If the taxpayer fails to cure the delinquency
within the fourteen-day period or fails to demonstrate good faith
in restructuring the installment contract with the local administrator,
the installment contract shall be canceled without further notice
to the taxpayer.
The City, through the local tax administrator, shall review
all tax returns in a prompt and timely manner and inform taxpayers
of any amounts due and owing. The taxpayer shall have 45 days after
receiving notice of the reviewed tax returns to make any request for
refund or pay any tax still due and owing.
A. No determination of tax due and owing may be issued more than four
years after the end of the calendar year for which the return for
the applicable period was filed or for the calendar year in which
the return for the applicable period was due, whichever occurs later.
B. If any tax return is not filed or if, during any four-year period
for which a notice of tax determination or assessment may be issued
by the City, the tax paid was less than 75% of the tax due, the statute
of limitations shall be six years maximum after the end of the calendar
year in which return for the applicable period was due or the end
of the calendar year in which the return for the applicable period
was filed.
C. No statute of limitations shall apply if a fraudulent tax return
was filed by the taxpayer.
For any locally imposed and administered tax for which a taxpayer
has not received a written notice of an audit, investigation, or assessment
from the local tax administrator, a taxpayer is entitled to file an
application with the local tax administrator for a voluntary disclosure
of the tax due. A taxpayer filing a voluntary disclosure application
must agree to pay the amount of tax due, along with interest of 1%
per month, for all periods prior to the filing of the application
but not more than four years before the date of filing the application.
A taxpayer filing a valid voluntary disclosure application may not
be liable for any additional tax, interest, or penalty for any period
before the date the application was filed. However, if the taxpayer
incorrectly determined and underpaid the amount of tax due, the taxpayer
is liable for the underpaid tax along with applicable interest on
the underpaid tax, unless the underpayment was the result of fraud
on the part of the taxpayer, in which case the application shall be
deemed invalid and void. The payment of tax and interest must be made
by no later than 90 days after the filing of the voluntary disclosure
application or the date agreed to by the local tax administrator.
However, any additional amounts owed as a result of an underpayment
of tax and interest previously paid under this section must be paid
within 90 days after a final determination and the exhaustion of all
appeals of the additional amount owed or the date agreed to by the
local tax administrator, whichever is longer.
Any locally administered tax ordinance shall be published via
normal or standard publishing requirements. The posting of a tax ordinance
on the internet shall satisfy the publication requirements. Copies
of all tax ordinances shall be made available to the public upon request
at the City Clerk's office.
The local tax administrator shall establish an internal review
procedure regarding any liens filed against any taxpayers for unpaid
taxes. Upon a determination by the local tax administrator that the
lien is valid, the lien shall remain in full force and effect. If
the lien is determined to be improper, the local tax administrator
shall:
A. Timely remove the lien at the City's expense;
B. Correct the taxpayer's credit record; and
C. Correct any public disclosure of the improperly imposed lien.
This article shall be liberally construed and administered to
supplement all of the City's tax ordinances. To the extent that any
tax ordinance is in conflict with or inconsistent with this article,
this article shall be controlling.