Section 520.1600  Definitions

The following definitions are applicable to Subpart P.

"Act" means Sections 1i and 1j of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act [35 ILCS 120/li and lj].

"Business enterprise", for the purpose of determining whether the minimum  eligible investment has been made at the High Impact Service Facility, means the taxpayer and any related corporation. For purposes of this definition, related corporation includes any wholly-owned subsidiary of the taxpayer, any corporation that wholly owns the taxpayer, or any corporation that is wholly-owned by the same common parent corporation as the taxpayer.

"Business enterprise project" means a facility used primarily for the sorting, handling and redistribution of mail, freight, cargo or other parcels received from agents or employees of the handler or shipper for processing at a common location and redistribution to other employees or agents for delivery to an ultimate destination on an item-by-item basis, and that consists of an investment of $100 million or more and will cause the creation of 750 or more jobs in an Enterprise Zone established pursuant to the Illinois Enterprise Zone Act and certified by the Department.

"Contractually obligated" means the business enterprise has entered into a legally binding agreement with the Department to comply with Section 1i of the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act.

"Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

"Eligible investment" means:

Investments in qualified property that will be placed in service at a High Impact Service Facility located in an Enterprise Zone. Qualified properties are statutorily defined in Section 201(f) and (h) of the Illinois Income Tax Act [35 ILCS 5/201(f) and (h)]; or

Noncapital/nonroutine investments, and associated service costs (direct labor or contractual fees), that will be placed in service at a High Impact Service Facility located in an Enterprise Zone and made for the improvement or renovation of qualified properties. These activities are undertaken for the purposes of improving productive capacity, efficiency, product quality, or competitive position, and cannot be repetitious, commonplace, or associated with regular maintenance expenditures; or

Includes motor driven heavy equipment, not considered rolling stock, used for transporting parcels, machinery, or equipment, or is used to maintain and provide in-house services within the confines of the facility; and automated machinery and equipment used for the purposes of transporting parcels within the facility, along with all components contained in the electronic control systems.

"Full-time equivalent job" means a job in which the new employee works for the recipient or for a corporation under contract to the recipient at a rate of at least 35 hours per week. A recipient who employs labor or services at a specific site or facility under contract with another may declare one full-time, permanent job for every 1,820 man hours worked per year under that contract. Vacations, paid holidays, and sick time are included in this computation. Overtime is not considered a part of regular hours. [20 ILCS 655/3(i)]

"Full-time retained job" means any employee defined as having a full-time or full-time equivalent job preserved at a specific facility or site, the continuance of which is threatened by a specific and demonstrable threat, which shall be specified in the application for development assistance. A recipient who employs labor or services at a specific site or facility under contract with another may declare one retained employee per year for every 1,750 man hours worked per year under that contract, even if different individuals perform on-site labor or services. [20 ILCS 655/3(j)]

"High Impact Service Facility" means a facility used primarily for the sorting, handling, and redistribution of mail, freight, cargo, or other parcels received from agents or employees of the handler or shipper for processing at a common location and redistribution to other employees or agents for delivery to an ultimate destination on an item-by-item basis [35 ILCS 120/li].

"Job creation" means at least 750 or more full-time equivalent employees have been hired in an Enterprise Zone over the number of full-time equivalent employees that were employed by the applicant in the Enterprise Zone as of July 1, 1989 or the date the Enterprise Zone was certified, whichever is later. Job titles being filled or refilled as a result of strikes or layoffs or replacement workers to replace company locked out employees cannot be counted as job creation.

"New employee" means a full-time equivalent job that represents a net increase in the number of the recipient's employees statewide. "New employee" includes an employee who previously filled a new employee position with the recipient who was rehired or called back from a layoff that occurs during or following the base years.  The term "new employee" does not include any of the following:

An employee of the recipient who performs a job that was previously performed by another employee in this State, if that job existed in this State for at least 6 months before hiring the employee;

Any individual who has a direct or indirect ownership interest of at least 5% in the profits, capital or value of any member of the recipient;

A child, grandchild, parent or spouse, other than a spouse who is legally separated from the individual, of any individual who has a direct or indirect ownership interest of at least 5% in the profits, capital or value of any member of the recipient;

Employee positions being filled or refilled as a result of strikes or layoffs or replacement workers to replace recipient company locked out employees.

"Placed in service" means the state or condition of readiness and availability for a specifically assigned function as defined in 26 CFR 1.46-3(d) (July 1, 2012). An eligible investment, as defined in this Section, shall be considered placed in service on the earlier of:

The date the property is placed in a condition of readiness and availability for use; or

The date on which the depreciation period of that property begins.

(Source:  Amended at 38 Ill. Reg. 457, effective December 20, 2013)