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Public Act 099-0641
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| HB5527 Enrolled | LRB099 16232 HLH 40562 b |
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AN ACT concerning revenue.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the State |
Tax Preparer Oversight Act.
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Section 5. Definitions. As used in this Act: |
"Department" means the Department of Revenue. |
"Income tax return preparer" has the meaning ascribed to |
that term in Section
1501 of the Illinois Income Tax Act. |
"PTIN" means a Preparer Tax Identification Number, as |
defined in Internal Revenue Service Notice 2011-6.
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Section 10. Powers and duties of the Department. |
(a) For taxable years beginning on or after January 1, |
2017, the Department shall, by rule, require any income tax |
return preparer, as defined in Section
1501 of the Illinois |
Income Tax Act, to include his or her PTIN on any tax return |
prepared by the income tax return preparer and filed under the |
Illinois Income Tax Act or any claim for refund of tax imposed |
by the Illinois Income Tax Act. |
(b) The Department shall develop and by rule implement a |
program using the PTIN as an oversight mechanism to assess |
returns, to identify high error rates, patterns of suspected |
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fraud, and unsubstantiated basis for tax positions by income |
tax return preparers. |
(c) The Department shall, by rule, establish formal and |
regular communication protocols with the Commissioner of the |
Internal Revenue Service to share and exchange PTIN information |
on income tax return preparers who are suspected of fraud, |
disciplined, or barred from filing tax returns with the |
Department or the Internal Revenue Service. The Department may, |
by rule, establish additional communication protocols with |
other states to exchange similar enforcement or discipline |
information.
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Section 15. Enforcement. |
(a) The Department may investigate the actions of any |
income tax return preparer doing business in the State and may |
bar or suspend an income tax return preparer from filing |
returns with the Department for good cause. |
(b) In addition to any other penalty provided by law, any |
individual or person violating this Act by failing to provide |
his or her PTIN shall pay a civil penalty to the Department in |
the amount of $50 per offense, but not to exceed $25,000 per |
calendar year; however, no such penalty shall be imposed if it |
is shown that the failure is due to reasonable cause and not |
due to willful neglect, as determined by the Department. |
(c) The Department shall, before taking any disciplinary |
action against an income tax return preparer under this |
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Section, hold a hearing in accordance with this Act. The |
Department shall,
at least 30 days before the date set for the |
hearing, (i) notify the accused in writing of the charges made |
and the time and place for the hearing on the charges, (ii) |
direct him or her to file a written answer to the charges with |
the Department under oath within 20 days after the service on |
him or her of the notice, and (iii) inform the accused that, if |
he or she fails to answer, disciplinary action shall be taken |
against him or her, as the Department may consider proper. |
(d) At the time and place fixed in the notice, the |
Department shall proceed to hear the charges and the parties or |
their counsel shall be accorded ample opportunity to present |
any pertinent statements, testimony, evidence, and arguments. |
The Department may continue the hearing from time to time.
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(e) In case the person, after receiving the notice, fails |
to file an answer, he or she may be subject to the disciplinary |
action set forth in the notice. The written notice may be |
served by registered or certified mail to the person's address |
of record. |
(f) All final administrative decisions of the Department |
under this Section shall be subject to judicial review pursuant |
to the provisions of the Administrative Review Law. The term |
"administrative decision" is defined as in Section 3-101 of the |
Code of Civil Procedure. Proceedings for judicial review shall |
be commenced in the Circuit Court of the county in which the |
party applying for review resides; provided, that if such party |
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is not a resident of this State, the venue shall be in Sangamon |
or Cook County.
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(g) The Department shall not be required to certify any |
record to the court or file any answer in court or otherwise |
appear in any court in a judicial review proceeding, unless and |
until the Department has received from the plaintiff payment of |
the costs of furnishing and certifying the record, which costs |
shall be established by the Department. Exhibits shall be |
certified without cost. Failure on the part of the plaintiff to |
file such receipt in court shall be grounds for dismissal of |
the action.
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Section 20. Rules. The Department shall adopt rules |
consistent with the provisions of this Act for the |
administration and enforcement of this Act.
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Section 85. The Illinois Income Tax Act is amended by |
changing Section 503 as follows:
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(35 ILCS 5/503) (from Ch. 120, par. 5-503)
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Sec. 503. Signing of Returns and Notices.
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(a) Signature presumed authentic. The fact that an |
individual's name
is signed to a return or notice shall be |
prima facie evidence for all
purposes that such document was |
actually signed by such individual. If a
return is prepared by |
an income tax return preparer for a taxpayer, that
preparer |
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shall sign the return as the preparer of that return and |
include his or her PTIN, as defined in the State Tax Preparer |
Oversight Act, on the return.
If a return is transmitted to the |
Department electronically, the
Department may presume that the |
electronic return originator has obtained
and is transmitting a |
valid signature document pursuant to the rules
promulgated by |
the Department for the electronic filing of tax returns, or
the |
Department may authorize electronic return originators to |
maintain the
signature documents and associated documentation, |
subject to the Department's
right of inspection at any time |
without notice, rather than transmitting those
documents to the |
Department, and
the Department may process the return.
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(b) Corporations. A return or notice required of a |
corporation shall
be signed by the president, vice-president, |
treasurer or any other officer
duly authorized so to act or, in |
the case of a limited liability company, by
a manager or |
member. In the case of a return or notice made for a
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corporation by a fiduciary pursuant to the provisions of |
section 502(b)
(4), such fiduciary shall sign such document. |
The fact that an
individual's name is signed to a return or |
notice shall be prima facie
evidence that such individual is |
authorized to sign such document on behalf
of the corporation.
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(c) Partnerships. A return or notice of a partnership shall |
be signed
by any one of the partners or, in the case of a |
limited liability company, by
a manager or member. The fact |
that a partner's name is signed to a
return or notice shall be |
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prima facie evidence that such individual is
authorized to sign |
such document on behalf of the partnership or limited
liability |
company.
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(d) Joint fiduciaries. A return or notice signed by one of |
two or
more joint fiduciaries will comply with the requirements |
of this Act. The
fact that a fiduciary's name is signed to such |
document shall be prima
facie evidence that such fiduciary is |
authorized to sign such document on
behalf of the person from |
whom it is required.
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(e) Failure to sign a return. If a taxpayer fails to sign a |
return
within 30 days after proper notice and demand for |
signature by
the
Department, the return shall be considered |
valid and any amount shown to be
due on the return shall be |
deemed assessed. Any overpayment of tax shown
on the face of an |
unsigned return shall be considered forfeited if after
notice |
and demand for signature by the Department the taxpayer fails |
to
provide a signature and 3 years have passed from the date |
the return was
filed. An overpayment of tax refunded to a |
taxpayer whose return was
filed electronically shall be |
considered an erroneous refund under Section
912 of this Act |
if, after proper notice and demand by the
Department, the |
taxpayer fails to provide a required signature document.
A |
notice and demand for signature in the case of a return
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reflecting an overpayment may be made by first class mail. This |
subsection
(e) shall apply to all returns filed pursuant to the |
Illinois Income Tax Act
since 1969.
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