100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2017 and 2018
HB2717

 

Introduced , by Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
35 ILCS 120/11  from Ch. 120, par. 450

    Amends the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act. Provides that, subject to certain restrictions, if the Department of Revenue may disclose confidential financial information to a municipality or county, then the Department of Revenue may also disclose that financial information to an independent third party who is authorized in writing by that municipality or county to receive the information. Effective immediately.


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A BILL FOR

 

HB2717LRB100 08541 HLH 18666 b

1    AN ACT concerning revenue.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Retailers' Occupation Tax Act is amended by
5changing Section 11 as follows:
 
6    (35 ILCS 120/11)  (from Ch. 120, par. 450)
7    Sec. 11. All information received by the Department from
8returns filed under this Act, or from any investigation
9conducted under this Act, shall be confidential, except for
10official purposes, and any person, including an eligible third
11party, who divulges any such information in any manner, except
12in accordance with a proper judicial order or as otherwise
13provided by law including, but not limited to, this Section,
14shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor with a fine not to
15exceed $7,500.
16    Nothing in this Act prevents the Director of Revenue from
17publishing or making available to the public the names and
18addresses of persons filing returns under this Act, or
19reasonable statistics concerning the operation of the tax by
20grouping the contents of returns so the information in any
21individual return is not disclosed.
22    Nothing in this Act prevents a municipality or county from
23aggregating the information provided to the municipality or

 

 

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1county by the Department under this Section and presenting that
2information to the public, as long as the information in any
3individual return is not disclosed.
4    Nothing in this Act prevents the Director of Revenue from
5divulging to the United States Government or the government of
6any other state, or any officer or agency thereof, for
7exclusively official purposes, information received by the
8Department in administering this Act, provided that such other
9governmental agency agrees to divulge requested tax
10information to the Department.
11    The Department's furnishing of information derived from a
12taxpayer's return or from an investigation conducted under this
13Act to the surety on a taxpayer's bond that has been furnished
14to the Department under this Act, either to provide notice to
15such surety of its potential liability under the bond or, in
16order to support the Department's demand for payment from such
17surety under the bond, is an official purpose within the
18meaning of this Section.
19    The furnishing upon request of information obtained by the
20Department from returns filed under this Act or investigations
21conducted under this Act to the Illinois Liquor Control
22Commission for official use is deemed to be an official purpose
23within the meaning of this Section.
24    Notice to a surety of potential liability shall not be
25given unless the taxpayer has first been notified, not less
26than 10 days prior thereto, of the Department's intent to so

 

 

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1notify the surety.
2    The furnishing upon request of the Auditor General, or his
3authorized agents, for official use, of returns filed and
4information related thereto under this Act is deemed to be an
5official purpose within the meaning of this Section.
6    Where an appeal or a protest has been filed on behalf of a
7taxpayer, the furnishing upon request of the attorney for the
8taxpayer of returns filed by the taxpayer and information
9related thereto under this Act is deemed to be an official
10purpose within the meaning of this Section.
11    The furnishing of financial information to a municipality
12or county, upon request of the chief executive officer thereof,
13including the furnishing of financial information to an
14eligible third party as provided in this paragraph, is an
15official purpose within the meaning of this Section, provided
16the municipality, or county, and, if applicable, the eligible
17third party agree agrees in writing to the requirements of this
18Section. Information provided to municipalities and counties
19under this paragraph shall be limited to: (1) the business
20name; (2) the business address; (3) the standard classification
21number assigned to the business; (4) net revenue distributed to
22the requesting municipality or county that is directly related
23to the requesting municipality's or county's local share of the
24proceeds under the Use Tax Act, the Service Use Tax Act, the
25Service Occupation Tax Act, and the Retailers' Occupation Tax
26Act distributed from the Local Government Tax Fund, and, if

 

 

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1applicable, any locally imposed retailers' occupation tax or
2service occupation tax; and (5) a listing of all businesses
3within the requesting municipality or county by account
4identification number and address. Notwithstanding the first
5paragraph of this Section, the incidental or inadvertent
6disclosure of such information to an employee of a county or
7municipality, or to a public official representing that county
8or municipality, in the scope of his or her employment or
9representation is not a criminal offense under this Section. On
10and after July 1, 2015, the furnishing of financial information
11to municipalities and counties under this paragraph may be by
12electronic means. If the Department may furnish financial
13information to a municipality or county under this paragraph,
14then the chief executive officer of the municipality or county
15may in writing authorize the Department to disclose that
16information to eligible third parties, including, but not
17limited to, consultants, attorneys, accountants, auditors, and
18financial advisors. The furnishing of financial information to
19an eligible third party is an official purpose within the
20meaning of this Section, provided the third party agrees in
21writing to the requirements of this Section and meets the
22criteria set forth in this paragraph. To be eligible to receive
23information from the Department, the third party (1) must enter
24into a confidentiality agreement with the Department prior to
25receiving the financial information, (2) must have an existing
26contract with the municipality or county at the time the third

 

 

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1party enters into the confidentiality agreement with the
2Department, and (3) must abide by the same conditions as the
3municipality or county with respect to the furnishing of
4financial information. The third party may use the financial
5information only for the purpose of providing services to the
6municipality as specified in the contract with the municipality
7and may not use the information for any other purpose.
8Electronic data submitted to third parties under this paragraph
9must be encrypted and must be accessible only to authorized
10users with secure passwords. Notwithstanding the first
11paragraph of this Section, disclosure of information under the
12requirements of this paragraph is not a criminal offense under
13this Section.
14    Information so provided shall be subject to all
15confidentiality provisions of this Section. The written
16agreement shall provide for reciprocity, limitations on
17access, disclosure, and procedures for requesting information.
18    The Department may make available to the Board of Trustees
19of any Metro East Mass Transit District information contained
20on transaction reporting returns required to be filed under
21Section 3 of this Act that report sales made within the
22boundary of the taxing authority of that Metro East Mass
23Transit District, as provided in Section 5.01 of the Local Mass
24Transit District Act. The disclosure shall be made pursuant to
25a written agreement between the Department and the Board of
26Trustees of a Metro East Mass Transit District, which is an

 

 

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1official purpose within the meaning of this Section. The
2written agreement between the Department and the Board of
3Trustees of a Metro East Mass Transit District shall provide
4for reciprocity, limitations on access, disclosure, and
5procedures for requesting information. Information so provided
6shall be subject to all confidentiality provisions of this
7Section.
8    The Director may make available to any State agency,
9including the Illinois Supreme Court, which licenses persons to
10engage in any occupation, information that a person licensed by
11such agency has failed to file returns under this Act or pay
12the tax, penalty and interest shown therein, or has failed to
13pay any final assessment of tax, penalty or interest due under
14this Act. The Director may make available to any State agency,
15including the Illinois Supreme Court, information regarding
16whether a bidder, contractor, or an affiliate of a bidder or
17contractor has failed to collect and remit Illinois Use tax on
18sales into Illinois, or any tax under this Act or pay the tax,
19penalty, and interest shown therein, or has failed to pay any
20final assessment of tax, penalty, or interest due under this
21Act, for the limited purpose of enforcing bidder and contractor
22certifications. The Director may make available to units of
23local government and school districts that require bidder and
24contractor certifications, as set forth in Sections 50-11 and
2550-12 of the Illinois Procurement Code, information regarding
26whether a bidder, contractor, or an affiliate of a bidder or

 

 

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1contractor has failed to collect and remit Illinois Use tax on
2sales into Illinois, file returns under this Act, or pay the
3tax, penalty, and interest shown therein, or has failed to pay
4any final assessment of tax, penalty, or interest due under
5this Act, for the limited purpose of enforcing bidder and
6contractor certifications. For purposes of this Section, the
7term "affiliate" means any entity that (1) directly,
8indirectly, or constructively controls another entity, (2) is
9directly, indirectly, or constructively controlled by another
10entity, or (3) is subject to the control of a common entity.
11For purposes of this Section, an entity controls another entity
12if it owns, directly or individually, more than 10% of the
13voting securities of that entity. As used in this Section, the
14term "voting security" means a security that (1) confers upon
15the holder the right to vote for the election of members of the
16board of directors or similar governing body of the business or
17(2) is convertible into, or entitles the holder to receive upon
18its exercise, a security that confers such a right to vote. A
19general partnership interest is a voting security.
20    The Director may make available to any State agency,
21including the Illinois Supreme Court, units of local
22government, and school districts, information regarding
23whether a bidder or contractor is an affiliate of a person who
24is not collecting and remitting Illinois Use taxes for the
25limited purpose of enforcing bidder and contractor
26certifications.

 

 

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1    The Director may also make available to the Secretary of
2State information that a limited liability company, which has
3filed articles of organization with the Secretary of State, or
4corporation which has been issued a certificate of
5incorporation by the Secretary of State has failed to file
6returns under this Act or pay the tax, penalty and interest
7shown therein, or has failed to pay any final assessment of
8tax, penalty or interest due under this Act. An assessment is
9final when all proceedings in court for review of such
10assessment have terminated or the time for the taking thereof
11has expired without such proceedings being instituted.
12    The Director shall make available for public inspection in
13the Department's principal office and for publication, at cost,
14administrative decisions issued on or after January 1, 1995.
15These decisions are to be made available in a manner so that
16the following taxpayer information is not disclosed:
17        (1) The names, addresses, and identification numbers
18    of the taxpayer, related entities, and employees.
19        (2) At the sole discretion of the Director, trade
20    secrets or other confidential information identified as
21    such by the taxpayer, no later than 30 days after receipt
22    of an administrative decision, by such means as the
23    Department shall provide by rule.
24    The Director shall determine the appropriate extent of the
25deletions allowed in paragraph (2). In the event the taxpayer
26does not submit deletions, the Director shall make only the

 

 

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1deletions specified in paragraph (1).
2    The Director shall make available for public inspection and
3publication an administrative decision within 180 days after
4the issuance of the administrative decision. The term
5"administrative decision" has the same meaning as defined in
6Section 3-101 of Article III of the Code of Civil Procedure.
7Costs collected under this Section shall be paid into the Tax
8Compliance and Administration Fund.
9    Nothing contained in this Act shall prevent the Director
10from divulging information to any person pursuant to a request
11or authorization made by the taxpayer or by an authorized
12representative of the taxpayer.
13(Source: P.A. 98-1058, eff. 1-1-15; 99-517, eff. 6-30-16.)
 
14    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
15becoming law.