Section 520.1620  Form of Application

An application shall be submitted on the standard application form provided by the Department. An application shall include:

a)         Investment Information. A description of the eligible investment with documentation to substantiate that the planned investment is eligible (e.g., balance sheets, construction schedules, schematics, and specifications, or lists and the cost of equipment purchased); and a spending plan and financial commitments demonstrating that the business enterprise will place the investment in service within eight years after certification.

b)         Job Information.  Information on new employment that will occur in the Enterprise Zone as a result of the investment, which includes, by job titles, the number of employees; and an explanation of how and why the investment causes the creation of full-time employees or full-time equivalent employees.

c)         Certification.  A signed and dated statement indicating that the data and information in the application is true and correct, that the Department shall be provided access to any material, documentation, or other data required to verify application information, and a statement that the number of jobs created shall be maintained for the term of the exemption, otherwise the Department will be notified and the exemption terminated.

d)         Legally Binding Agreement.  A dated statement executed by the Chief Executive Officer of the business enterprise and the Director of the Department obligating the business enterprise to create 750 or more full-time or full-time equivalent jobs and place in service a minimum of $100 million in qualified property at a High Impact Service Facility located in an Enterprise Zone within eight years. The agreement shall state that should the business fail to place in service the eligible investment in qualified property within eight years following certification, the business shall be decertified for the tax exemption and required to repay the exempted taxes, plus any penalties and interest as determined by the Department of Revenue. The agreement shall also state that the business shall submit quarterly progress reports describing the progress made toward the creation of 750 or more full-time or full-time equivalent jobs and the investment of $100 million in qualified property at the High Impact Service Facility, and that failure to do so shall result in termination of the exemption.

e)         The Chief Executive Officer of the business enterprise must sign and immediately return to the Department a Company Tax Certification form that states that the business enterprise is in good standing, authorized to do business in Illinois and has no delinquent tax liabilities.

f)         The business enterprise further authorizes the Department to seek a tax clearance letter from the Illinois Department of Revenue and authorizes the Department of Revenue to provide such letter stating whether the records of the Department of Revenue show that the business enterprise is in compliance with all tax Acts administered by the Department of Revenue and to which the business enterprise is subject.

g)         The business enterprise also certifies that no tax liens, including, but not limited to, municipal, county, State or federal liens, have been filed against the business enterprise or majority shareholders of the business enterprise, or in the name of related business owned by the applicant.

h)         The business enterprise certifies that all the information contained in the application, including the documentation, is true to the best of his/her knowledge and belief.

(Source:  Added at 27 Ill. Reg. 3282, effective February 14, 2003)