INSIDE SALT
INSIDE SALT
In-Depth Coverage of Issues Surrounding State and Local Tax
INSIDE SALT
In-Depth Coverage of Issues Surrounding State and Local Tax
Illinois
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Captive Insurance Carve-Out: Illinois SB 1573 Amendment Proposed

by | Mar 20, 2015 | ,

Members of the Illinois General Assembly continue to make efforts to ameliorate the impact of Illinois’ new self-procurement tax on captive insurance.  On March 10, 2015, Sen. William Haine (D-Alton) filed an amendment to Senate Bill 1573, which was originally introduced under his sponsorship on February 20, 2015, and is now pending in the Senate Insurance Committee. As originally presented, the Bill would basically undo last year’s legislation (P.A. 98-978) imposing a self-procurement tax and narrowing the industrial insured exemption.  The amendment takes a more nuanced approach, by carving out captive insurance arrangements from the tax while leaving the narrowed definition of industrial insured in place.

The amendment proposes to amend the law to simply provide that contracts of insurance with a captive insurance company are not subject to the taxes and fee (3.5 percent self-procurement tax, 0 percent to 1 percent fire marshal tax, 0.1 percent surplus lines association fee) imposed by Public Act 98-978. The amendment defines a “captive insurance company” broadly to include “any affiliated insurance company … or special purpose financial captive insurance company formed to insure the operational risks of the company’s parent or affiliates, risks of a controlled unaffiliated business, or other risks approved by the captive insurance company’s board or other regulatory body.” The definition also enumerates several kinds of captive insurance companies as specifically included.

This proposed exemption for insurance placed directly with captive insurance companies would leave unaffected the increased qualification requirements to be an “industrial insured” eligible to self-procure insurance from unadmitted carriers. Insurance directly procured from a nonadmitted commercial carrier would continue to be subject to tax. The amendment also changes the effective date of the Act to January 1, 2016, whereas previously the bill would have been effective immediately upon becoming law. Insurance transacted with a qualifying captive in 2015 thus would be subject to tax under the amendment.

On March 10, 2015, House Minority Republican Leader Jim Durkin introduced House Bill 4193, which mirrors Senate Bill 1573 (as originally filed) in basically repealing the changes made last year by Public Act 98-978.

It remains to be seen whether either version of the Bill will gain traction in the Democratic-controlled General Assembly, which is struggling with a large state budget deficit that will increase substantially with the 2015 rollback of Illinois’ temporary income tax increase.



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Illinois Retailers Beware: Class Action Complaint Filed Against Grocer for Collecting Illinois Sales Tax on Manufacturers’ Coupons Lacking Specific Language

by | Mar 5, 2015 | , ,

A class action complaint was filed in federal court last week against the operator of a grocery chain, alleging failure to deduct manufacturers’ coupons from the tax base on which sales tax was calculated and collected from customers.  This latest attack on a retailer relies on an interpretation of a Department of Revenue regulation that, if correct, would be overly burdensome on Illinois retailers. Other Illinois retailers that accept manufacturers’ coupons may be at risk of being sued in similar actions or may be forced to change their practices.

The Illinois sales tax, the Retailers’ Occupation Tax, is a tax on a retailer’s gross receipts. Store coupons, where a retailer does not receive reimbursement from another party, constitute a reduction in a retailer’s gross receipts and therefore reduce the tax owed. 86 Ill. Admin. Code 130.2125(b)(1). Manufacturers’ coupons, on the other hand, involve reimbursement to a retailer from a third party. This reimbursement constitutes taxable gross receipts. 86 Ill. Admin. Code 130.2025(b)(2). As such, manufacturers’ coupons do not decrease the amount of Retailers’ Occupation Tax owed by the retailer.

An Illinois retailer collects Use Tax from its customer as reimbursement for its Retailers’ Occupation Tax. See 35 ILCS 105/3-45; 86 Ill. Admin. Code 130.101(d). The difficulty with manufacturers’ coupons is that the customer has not paid the entire amount of the retailer’s receipts on which Retailers’ Occupation Tax is due. The Department’s regulation addresses the issue by calling for the customer to assume liability for Use Tax in the fine print of the coupon:

Technically, the coupon issuer … owes the corresponding Use Tax on the value of the coupon.  However, in many cases, the coupon issuer incorporates language into the coupon that requires the bearer … to assume this Use Tax liability.  86 Ill. Admin. Code 130.2025(b)(2).

The theory of the complaint is that the coupon did not contain this language shifting the Use Tax liability, and therefore it was improper of the retailer to collect tax on the coupon amount. If the class action attorneys’ theory is correct, store clerks would be expected to carefully read the fine print of each and every coupon that customers present.  Surely, the Department of Revenue could not have intended such a result.  The complaint seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages of at least 1 percent of the revenue from Illinois stores during years in which violations occurred, and fees and costs. Other retailers may risk similar suits and should consider seeking clarity from the Department of Revenue.



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Senate Bill 1573 Would Repeal Illinois Self-Procurement Tax

by | Mar 5, 2015 | ,

On February 20, 2015, Sen. William Haine introduced Senate Bill 1573, which would repeal the self-procurement tax that came into effect January 1, 2015.  As we have previously covered in detail, at the end of its 2014 regular legislative session,the Illinois General Assembly enacted a multimillion dollar tax on Illinois companies using captive insurance arrangements (P.A. 98-978). The bill had been passed by the General Assembly under the guise of technical corrections to the insurance code and went widely unnoticed throughout the legislative process. Governor Quinn signed it into law, and efforts to repeal the law during the veto session were unavailing. The new tax is currently in effect and applies to policies effective on or after January 1, 2015. Reports, due 90 days after the effective date of coverage, will begin coming due at the beginning of April, with taxes and fees due 30 days after reports are filed.

Now, with a new General Assembly and a new governor, efforts again are underway to repeal the tax. Senate Bill 1573 would reverse the changes made last year by Public Act 98-978 by repealing the self-procurement tax.  In addition, the Bill restores a broader industrial insured exception to permit more Illinois-headquartered businesses that manage risks using captive insurance arrangements to transact non-admitting insurance without being subject to Illinois premium tax. The repeal would be effective upon enactment.  As currently drafted, the Bill does not appear to provide relief for policies subject to tax before the effective date of the repeal.



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Illinois Industrial Insured Self-Procurement Tax Guidance Announced

by | Jan 14, 2015 | ,

As we have previously covered in detail, at the end of its 2014 regular legislative session, the Illinois General Assembly enacted a multimillion dollar tax on Illinois companies using captive insurance arrangements.  The law was enacted under the guise of technical corrections to the insurance code.

Historically, Illinois businesses meeting basic levels of sophistication and size were entitled to obtain coverage from nonadmitted insurers under an “industrial insured” exception to the general prohibition on transacting unauthorized insurance.  Senate Bill 3324, now Public Act 98-0978 (the Act), tightened the qualifying criteria for the industrial insured exception and imposed new taxes and fees totaling between 3.6 percent and 4.6 percent of premium—equivalent to those imposed on a policy procured by a surplus lines broker.  The potential financial impact has been estimated at upward of $100 million, falling squarely on large- and mid-sized companies headquartered in Illinois.  The affected business community was aghast when the surprising tax consequences were discovered, but its efforts to repeal the law in the General Assembly’s fall veto session proved unsuccessful.

The law now has come into effect, applying to policies effective on or after January 1, 2015.  The statute provides that reports are due to the Surplus Lines Association of Illinois within 90 days of the effective date of a policy, and so reports for calendar year policies must be filed by April 1, 2015.  Applicable taxes and fees are then due 30 days after the filing of the report.  The Department of Insurance has not yet provided any guidance on the new law, but the Surplus Lines Association of Illinois has updated its website with an online filing system for businesses subject to the tax.  Affected businesses must register and complete their online reports within the requisite 90-day deadline.  Reporting is on a policy-by-policy and transaction-by-transaction basis.  The system then calculates the applicable taxes and fees.  Once a transaction is submitted, the website instructs that Surplus Lines Association of Illinois will e-mail an invoice for its 0.1 percent association stamping fee, and the Illinois Department of Insurance will mail an invoice for the 3.5 percent premium tax and any applicable fire marshal tax.

It remains to be seen whether another, more successful effort to overturn the law will be undertaken during the 2015 legislative session.  In the interim, affected taxpayers are required to comply with the law’s filing requirements and will be assessed the new tax.



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Illinois Law Firm Continues to Clog Court System with Tax-Related False Claims Act Allegations—but Proposed Legislation May Offer Relief

by | Jan 13, 2015 | , ,

As many readers of this blog know, over the past 12 years the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois has been deluged with lawsuits filed by a Chicago law firm against internet retailers as a “whistleblower” under the Illinois False Claims Act.  The factual support for the lawsuits comes solely from internet-based investigations, including purchases made on retailer websites.  The lawsuits typically allege that the retailers have knowingly failed to collect and remit sales and use tax on some aspect of their internet sales shipped to Illinois.  See 740 ILCS 175/1 et seq.  Substantial damages are claimed, including up to three times the tax allegedly owed to the State, attorneys’ fees, and a penalty assessment for each tax filing that failed to disclose the tax due.

An initial wave of approximately 90 lawsuits was filed in 2003 and 2004 against retailers that did not collect Illinois tax on their internet sales.  In 2011, the whistleblower firm began to file a second round of lawsuits against retailers that collected tax on their internet sales of merchandise, but not on the shipping and handling charges associated with those sales.  To date, more than 200 of these “shipping and handling” tax lawsuits have been filed.  Most recently, the whistleblower firm has filed claims against defendants in the liquor industry, alleging a failure to collect sales and use tax and, in some instances, the failure to remit Illinois’ gallonage tax on sales of alcohol.

The validity of these lawsuits is hotly contested.  Many lawsuits have been dismissed, and at least two shipping and handling tax cases have resulted in trial rulings against the whistleblower firm and in favor of the retailer defendants.  It remains to be seen how the courts will determine the viability of Relator’s most recent claims, which appear on their face to be flawed.

Many other cases, including those that raise only nuisance value damages, have been settled to avoid the cost of litigation.  These settlements appear to have fueled the whistleblower firm’s continued voracious appetite for this type of litigation.

Although the State of Illinois has the right to intervene and lead the prosecution of these actions, for the past several years the Office of the Illinois Attorney General has generally declined to intervene in these actions.  Unfortunately, when this occurs, the Illinois False Claims Act permits a whistleblower claimant to proceed on its own with the litigation.  In almost all cases in which the State has declined to intervene, the whistleblower firm has elected to proceed on its own with its tax-related claims.

The continued activity in this area underscores the need for the Illinois General Assembly to address and pass House Bill 0074 – legislation carefully crafted, through negotiations with the Illinois Attorney General’s office, to modify the procedure for state tax-related False Claims Act litigation in Illinois.  The legislation would vastly improve the current False Claims Act situation by modifying the law as follows:

  1. Requiring whistleblowers with state tax-related claims to first disclose their claims [...]

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More Tax Money for the City of Chicago in 2015: Broader Bases, Increased Rates and Lesser Credit

by | Jan 8, 2015 | , , , , ,

The City of Chicago’s (City’s) 2015 budget includes a number of changes to taxing ordinances found in titles 3 and 4 of the Chicago Municipal Code.  The City of Chicago Department of Finance has notified taxpayers and tax collectors of the amendments, effective January 1, 2015, via a notice posted on its website.  The text of the amendments can be found on the Office of the City Clerk’s website.  The amendments, designed to bolster the City’s coffers, affect multiple City taxes by enlarging tax bases, increasing tax rates and tightening credit mechanisms.  The amendments include:

  • Hotel Accommodations Tax(Section 3-24-020(A))
    • The definition of “operator” (the tax collector) was amended to include: (1) any person that receives or collects consideration for the rental or lease of hotel accommodations; and (2) persons that facilitate the rental or lease of hotel accommodations for consideration, whether on-line, in person or otherwise.
    • A definition of “gross rental or leasing charge” (the tax base) was added that excludes “separately stated optional charges” unrelated to the use of hotel accommodations.
  • Use Tax for Non-titled Personal Property(Section 3-27-030(D))
    • A credit is available for sales and use “tax properly due” and “actually paid” to another municipality against the City’s 1 percent use tax imposed on the use in the City of non-titled tangible personal property that was purchased outside of the City.  The added definitions of “tax properly due” and “tax actually paid” exclude other municipal taxes that are rebated, refunded, or otherwise returned to the taxpayer or its affiliate.
  • Personal Property Lease Transaction Tax
    • The exemption from the tax for a “car sharing organization” (i.e., Zipcar) was eliminated.  (Sections 3-32-020(A) (definition) and 3-32-050(A)(13) (exemption))
    • The definition of “lease price” or “rental price” (the tax base) was amended to exclude nontaxable, separately-stated charges only if they are optional.  (Section 3-32-020(K))
    • The tax rate was increased from 8 percent to 9 percent.  (Section 3-32-030(B))
  • Amusement Tax
    • The amusement tax was amended to be imposed on the full charge paid for the privilege of using a “special seating area” such as a luxury suite or skybox (Section 4-156-020(F)).  Credit against this tax is available in the amount of any other taxes the City imposes on the same charges (for example, food and beverage charges) if the taxes are separately-stated and paid.  Previously, tax was imposed on 60 percent of the charge for a special seating area and did not include a credit mechanism.
    • Credit against the amusement tax was eliminated for franchise fees paid to the City for the right to use the public way or to do business in the City.  (Section 4-156-020(J))
    • The amendments eliminated the additional tax imposed on ticket sellers (Section 4-156-033).  The tax was imposed on sellers selling tickets from a location other than where the taxable amusement occurs on the amount of the service fee (as distinguished from the taxable admission charge).  Now, all ticket sellers must [...]

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Unfinished Business: Illinois General Assembly Fails to Repeal Self-Procured Insurance Tax

by | Dec 15, 2014 | ,

Despite a strong effort by a coalition of opponents, efforts to repeal the new Illinois self-procured insurance tax law in the veto session of the Illinois General Assembly were unsuccessful.  As a result, the law will take effect on January 1, 2015.

As previously covered on this blog, Illinois allows “industrial insureds” to independently procure insurance.  Prior to the enactment of the self-procured insurance tax law, Illinois had not imposed tax on these transactions.  At the end of the spring legislative session, supposedly technical amendments to the insurance code were passed that imposed a 3.5 percent premium tax on these policies (plus an additional fire marshal tax and surplus line association fee, bringing the total to between 3.6 percent and 4.6 percent depending on the type of insurance).  This tax is imposed on the nationwide premium if the insured’s home state is Illinois.  Effectively, the statute is a tax on Illinois-headquartered businesses that use captive insurance risk management arrangements.

Despite being alerted to the unfriendly business impact of the bill, Governor Quinn signed it into law with an effective date of January 1, 2015.  Since then, the Illinois business community has sought the repeal of the tax or its amendment to exempt captives.  There had been hope that this could be achieved after the November election during the veto session or a lame duck session.  The Illinois House of Representatives, however, has adjourned and does not plan to reconvene until the 99th General Assembly is inaugurated on January 14, 2015.  (The Senate also has adjourned, although the Senate President has left open the possibility of reconvening before inauguration.)  Going into the 99th General Assembly, efforts will continue to seek legislative relief for captive insurance arrangements.

The new tax applies to policies of insurance effective on or after January 1, 2015.  Within 90 days after the effective date of such a policy, qualifying insureds must file a report with the Surplus Lines Association of Illinois (similar to that required of a surplus lines broker).  Within 30 days of filing that report, the insured then must pay to the Department of Insurance the premium tax and, if applicable, the fire marshal tax.  Also within those 30 days the insured must pay the 0.1 percent surplus lines association fee to the Surplus Line Association of Illinois.  Neither the Department of Insurance nor the Surplus Line Association of Illinois has posted forms or guidance on their websites.  Indeed, the guidance on the Surplus Line Association website is outdated and does not reflect the 2014 amendments.

Affected taxpayers should carefully consider their compliance obligations and how to proceed amidst this uncertainty.  We will post on this subject again when/if additional guidelines are issued.



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Illinois Courts Consistently Enforce Manufacturing Exemption Despite Department of Revenue Opposition

by | Oct 14, 2014 | ,

Illinois courts have issued three taxpayer-friendly manufacturing rulings in 2013 and 2014, underscoring the breadth of the exemption from use tax afforded to equipment and chemicals used in the process of manufacturing.

Cook County Circuit Court Holds Chemicals Effectuate a “Direct and Immediate” Change on a Product Being Manufactured and Thus are Tax-exempt

Most recently, in in PPG Industries, Inc. v. Illinois Dep’t of Revenue, No. 13 L 050140 (Cir. Ct. of Cook County, Ill. Sept. 9, 2014), the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, reversed an administrative determination denying PPG a refund of use tax paid on its purchase of chemicals used in a manufacturing process, on the basis that the chemicals effectuated a “direct and immediate change” on the glass that was being manufactured.  The exemption at issue exempts from tax “chemicals or chemicals acting as catalysts but only if the chemicals or chemicals acting as catalysts effect a direct and immediate change upon a product being manufactured or assembled for sale or lease.”  86 Ill. Admin. Code § 130.330(c)(6); see 35 ILCS 105/3-50(4) (exempt “equipment” includes same).

The Circuit Court opinion found that the Administrative Law Judge’s opinion was clearly erroneous under the facts as presented at the hearing.  The Court rejected the ALJ’s finding that in order to be found to have a “direct and immediate” change on a product being manufactured, there must be a chemical reaction between the chemical for which the tax exemption is sought and the product being manufactured.  The Court determined that the glass being manufactured underwent “an observable direct and immediate physical change as a result of” the chemicals at issue, finding that nothing in the exemption requires that the direct and immediate change relate to a chemical change and not a physical one.  Additionally, the Court characterized a “direct” change as one in which after the chemicals at issue are added to the manufacturing process, “no additional steps or agencies in the manufacturing process intervene or are required to effect vital changes” on the product being manufactured.  It remains to be seen whether the Illinois Department of Review (Department) will appeal the decision.

Illinois Appellate Court Finds Gas Leasing Corporation Owes No Tax on Hazmat Fees or Cryogenic Systems 

On September 5, 2013, the Illinois Appellate Court issued a ruling in favor of ILMO Products Co. (ILMO), holding that ILMO did not owe Retailers’ Occupation Tax on the hazmat fees it charged in connection with its rentals of high pressure gas cylinders because the fees were part of a nontaxable rental and were not a taxable sale of gas.  ILMO Prods. Co. v. Ill. Dep’t of Revenue, 2013 IL App (4th) 120973-U (Sept. 5, 2013).  The Appellate Court also held that ILMO did not owe use tax on its purchase of cryogenic systems because the systems primarily were used as part of a manufacturing process.

The Appellate Court resolved the hazmat fee issue based on the parties’ pre-trial stipulations that the hazmat fee was a [...]

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Illinois Enacts Legislation Imposing a Self-Procurement Tax While Also Narrowing the Industrial Insured Exception for Transacting Nonadmitted Insurance

by and | Sep 11, 2014 | ,

Illinois will soon begin taxing self-procured insurance premiums for the first time, as required by Senate Bill 3324, now Public Act 98-0978 (the Act).  The Act, which was signed into law by Governor Quinn on August 15, was quietly ushered through the General Assembly as a supposed technical amendment. The Act is anything but—it substantively amends Illinois law to tax Illinois-based companies who self-procure insurance as though they were surplus lines brokers, imposing a 3.5 percent self-procurement tax, together with additional fees and charges.  In addition, the Act makes it harder for Illinois companies to self-insure by narrowing the definition of an “industrial insured” and increasing the qualification requirements for risk managers.  The new law applies to policies of insurance effective on or after January 1, 2015.

As we explained in a prior post, the Act hurts Illinois-headquartered businesses that manage risks using captive insurance arrangements. With the 2011 enactment of the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act (NRRA), a company’s home state – typically its principal place of business – has exclusive authority to tax and regulate nonadmitted insurance. See 15 U.S.C. § 8201. For Illinois-headquartered businesses, this arrangement worked well because Illinois law previously allowed “industrial insureds” – companies meeting minimal size and sophistication requirements – to transact nonadmitted insurance without paying tax. An Illinois-headquartered company thus could obtain insurance from its captive domiciled overseas or in a captive-friendly U.S. state without paying any tax on its premiums.

The Act ends this business-friendly state of affairs. An industrial insured transacting nonadmitted insurance for a policy taking effect on or after January 1, 2015, will now have to withhold (or pay out-of-pocket if it does not withhold) a 3.5 percent premium tax on insurance contracts. Two additional charges increase the total effective rate to anywhere from 3.6 percent to 4.6 percent: a countersigning fee of 0.1 percent to support the Surplus Line Association of Illinois, and for certain lines of insurance, a fire marshal tax of anywhere from 0.01 percent to 1.00 percent of premium.

The Act also makes it more difficult for Illinois companies to self-insure by narrowing the definition of an “industrial insured,” where companies must qualify as an “industrial insured” in order to have the right to self-insure. Until now Illinois company could be an “industrial insured” if its annual premium for insurance of all risks except life and accident and health insurance exceeded $100,000 and it had either (a) at least 25 full-time employees, (b) more than $3 million of gross assets, or (c) gross revenues of more than $5 million. Under the Act, an industrial insured now must meet the requirements of an “exempt commercial purchaser” under 215 ILCS 5/445(1), which include having nationwide commercial property and casualty insurance premiums in excess of $100,000 annually and having either (a) net worth of more than $20 million, (b) more than $50 million of annual revenues, (c) more than 500 full time employees or more than 1,000 employees in an affiliated group, (d) a nonprofit [...]

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Bear Down: In a Preseason Loss to Cook County’s Poor Play, the Appellate Court Finds Chicago Bears Ticket Holder Amenities Taxable

by | Sep 4, 2014 | , , ,

The First District of the Illinois Appellate Court, in Chicago Bears Football Club v. Cook County Department of Revenue, 2014 IL App (1st) 122892 (Aug. 6, 2014), has  affirmed an administrative determination finding the Chicago Bears owe Cook County over $4.1 million in amusement tax and related interest, on the basis that the amenities and privileges enjoyed by Bears premium ticket holders are taxable admission charges.  The ordinance at issue imposes tax on “admission fees or other charges paid for the privilege to enter, to witness or to view such amusement” but excludes “any separately stated charges for non-amusement services or for sales of tangible personal property.”  Cook County, Ill. Code of Ordinances, part I, ch. 74, art. X, § 74-392(a), (e).

The charges at issue include those for club level seats, luxury suites and the Skyline Suite.  For club level seats, the assigned seat location varies from the 50-yard line to the end zone.  On the face of the ticket, the charge for the seat and for the amenity license is separately stated.  The price of the seat is constant regardless of location, while the price of the license varies depending on the seat location.  Amenities provided to a club seat ticket holder include access to a “club lounge” for use before, during and after the game.  The lounge has buffet and bar areas (food and beverage not included in ticket price), better food selection than that available in the regular seating area and high-definition televisions for viewing the Bears game in progress and other National Football League games.  A club level ticket holder cannot view the entire field from the lounge.  Other amenities provided include rights to early ticket purchases to playoff games and non-Bears game events at Soldier Field, special parking privileges, invitations to autograph sessions and merchandise giveaways, free gameday programs and invitations to appreciation events year-round.

The luxury suites provide a private enclosed area for up to 20 guests.  Seating is not assigned.  Tickets list a single price.  Amenities of the suite include individual temperature controls, private bathrooms and high-definition televisions.  Food and beverage generally are not included in the ticket price.  Other available amenities include first option to use the suite for most non-Bears events at Soldier Field, travel arranged by the Bears for certain away games, invitations to non-football gameday events, participation in gameday drawings for special prizes, parking passes, special recognition in Bears publications and invitations to appreciation events year-round.

The Skyline Suite is an open area shared by multiple licensees and has non-assigned seating.  Food and beverage are included in the price.  Like luxury suite tickets, a single price is listed.  The same amenities available to luxury suite ticket holders are available to Skyline Suite ticket holders.

The appellate court affirmed the county’s assessment, concluding tax is owed on 100 percent of the club seat ticket price and on 60 percent of the luxury suite and Skyline Suite licenses.  For club level seats, the court reasons that [...]

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