As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:
AMOUNT PAID
The amount charged to the taxpayer's service address in this
municipality regardless of where such amount is billed or paid.
GROSS CHARGE
The amount paid for the act or privilege of originating or
receiving telecommunications in this municipality 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 municipality, charges for the channel mileage between each channel
point within this municipality, and charges for that portion of the
interstate interoffice channel provided within Illinois. However,
"gross charge" shall not include:
A.
Any amounts added to a purchaser's bill because
of a charge made pursuant to:
(1)
The tax imposed by this article;
(2)
The tax imposed by the Telecommunications Excise
Tax Act (35 ILCS 630/1);
(3)
The tax imposed by Section 4251 of the Internal
Revenue Code;
(5)
Charges added to customers' bills pursuant to
the provisions of Section 9-221 or 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;
B.
Charges for a sent collect telecommunication
received outside of such municipality;
C.
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;
D.
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;
E.
Charges to business enterprises certified as
exempt under Section 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 Community Affairs;
F.
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 article 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;
G.
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);
H.
Charges paid by inserting coins in coin-operated
telecommunication devices; or
I.
Amounts paid by telecommunications retailers
under the Telecommunications Infrastructure Maintenance Fee Act.
PERSON
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.
PURCHASE AT RETAIL
The acquisition, consumption or use of telecommunications
through a sale at retail.
RETAILER
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.
RETAILER MAINTAINING A PLACE OF BUSINESS IN THIS STATE (OR ANY
LIKE TERM)
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.
SALE AT RETAIL
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.
SERVICE ADDRESS
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. 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.
TAXPAYER
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 a municipality and who incurs a tax liability
as authorized by this article.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
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 Section 2-27 of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act.
A tax is hereby imposed upon any and all the
following acts or privileges:
A. The act or privilege of originating in the municipality
or receiving in the municipality intrastate telecommunications by
a person at a rate of 1% of the gross charge for such telecommunications
purchased at retail from a retailer.
B. The act or privilege of originating in the municipality
or receiving in the municipality interstate telecommunications by
a person at a rate of 6% of the gross charge for such telecommunications
purchased at retail from a retailer. (Sections 5-25 and 5-30 of the
Simplified Municipal Telecommunications Tax Act, P.A. 92-0526.) 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.
[Amended 3-16-2004 by Ord. No. 5750; 3-27-2004 by Ord. No.
5754]
C. 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 municipality,
[Amended 3-16-2004 by Ord. No. 5750]
On or before the last day of July, and on or
before the last day of every month thereafter, 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 (Public
Act 92-526, Section 5-50) and any accompanying rules and regulations created by
the Department to implement the Act.
[Amended 3-16-2004 by Ord. No. 5750]
A. This article shall be in full force and effect from
and after its passage and approval and publication as required by
law; provided, however, that:
(1) Subsection
A(2) and
(3) shall take effect for all gross charges billed on or after July 1, 2004;
(2) The tax provided for herein shall take effect for
all bills issued on or after the first day of July 2004; and
(3) Any amounts due or payable to the municipality for
any tax periods ending prior to the first day of July 2004, shall
nevertheless remain payable as if this article had not been adopted.
B. The City Clerk is hereby directed to file a certified
copy of this article with the Illinois Department of Revenue on or
before March 20, 2004.