Retailers’ Occupation Tax Act
Subscribe to Retailers’ Occupation Tax Act's Posts

Tax Changes Implemented As Part of Revenue Package Supporting Illinois Budget

Yesterday afternoon, after months of wrangling and a marathon 4th of July weekend session, the Illinois House of Representatives voted to override Governor Bruce Rauner’s veto of Senate Bill (SB) 9, the revenue bill supporting the State’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2017-2018 Budget. The vote ended Illinois’ two year budget impasse and may avoid a threatened downgrade of Illinois bonds to junk status. The key tax components of the bill as enacted Public Act 100-0022 (Act) are as follows:

Income Tax

Rate increase. Income tax rates are increased, effective July 1, 2017, to 4.95 percent for individuals, trusts and estates, and 7 percent for corporations.

Income allocation. The Act contains a number of provisions intended to resolve questions regarding how income should be allocated between the two rates in effect for 2017.

  • Illinois Income Tax Act (IITA) 5/202.5(a) provides a default rule, a proration based on the days in each period (181/184), for purposes of allocating income between pre-July 1 segments and periods after the end of June when rates increase. Alternatively, IITA 5/202.5(b) provides that a taxpayer may elect to determine net income on a specific accounting basis for the two portions of their taxable year, from the beginning of the taxable year through the last day of the apportionment period, and from the first day of the next apportionment period through the end of the taxable year.

(more…)




read more

Tax Highlights of Proposed Illinois “Grand Bargain”

In an effort to resolve Illinois’ 20-month budget impasse, the Illinois Senate leadership (Senate Majority Leader John Cullerton and Senate Minority Leader Christine Rodogno) have jointly proposed a series of bills to increase revenue, reduce spending, and respond to the Illinois Governor’s concerns regarding pension reforms, workers compensation reform and property tax relief.  A series of twelve bills have been introduced, all of which are interlinked for passage.  The bills are termed the Illinois “Grand Bargain.”  Most of the tax-related changes are found in Senate Bill 9.  The current version of the Senate Bill 9 (Amendment 3) (“Bill”) was submitted on March 3 and includes the following proposed changes: (more…)




read more

Illinois Department of Revenue Issues Proposed Amendments to Shipping and Handling Regulations

The Illinois Department of Revenue (Department) recently proposed amendments to its regulations governing the taxability of shipping and handling charges. The Proposed Amendments to 86 Ill. Admin Code §§ 130.415 and 130.410 (Proposed Amendments) are intended “to incorporate the holding of the Illinois Supreme Court in Kean v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 235 Ill. 2d 351 (2009) … [and to] clarif[y] when transportation and delivery charges are considered part of ‘gross receipts’ subject to the Retailers’ Occupation Tax Act or the Use Tax Act.”  The Proposed Amendments state that they are retroactive to November 19, 2009, the date of the Kean decision.

Delivery charges taxable when they are “inseparably linked” to the taxable sale of property

In Kean, the Court held that delivery charges for products purchased over the internet and shipped to Illinois customers are taxable when “an ‘inseparable link’ exists between the sale and delivery of the merchandise plaintiffs purchased.”… 235 Ill. 2d at 376.  Citing Kean, the Proposed Amendments adopt that rule (Prop. 86 Ill. Admin. Code § 130.415(b)(1)(B)(i)) and provide two examples of an “inseparable link”:

  • When delivery charges are not separately identified to the customer in the contract or invoice; or
  • When delivery charges are separately identified to the customer, “but the seller does not offer the purchaser the option to receive the tangible personal property in any manner except by delivery from the seller (g., the seller does not offer the purchaser the option to pick up the tangible personal property).”

Prop. § 130.415(b)(1)(B)(ii)

The Proposed Amendments provide that if a product can be sold without rendering the delivery service, the service is not taxable.  Prop. §130.415(b)(1)(B)(ii).  Although this language is not limited to a circumstance in which a pickup option is offered, all of the examples provided by the Department focus on that fact pattern.  Notably, the pickup option need not be at an in-state location.  This is consistent with the Department’s recent private letter rulings concluding that when a pick up option is offered, even if it is out-of-state, the delivery charges are not taxable.  ST-15-0011-PLR (7/16/15); ST-15-0012-PLR (7/27/15).

In a change from the Department’s prior practice, the Proposed Amendments provide that separately stated shipping charges not found to be inseparably linked to the sale of goods are not taxable even if they include a profit component (i.e., exceed the actual cost of shipping).  Cf. the current regulation, at 86 Ill. Admin. Code §130.415(d), with Prop. §§ 130.415(b)(1)(C) and (b)(1)(D)(iv).

Practice Note:

Sub-part (b)(1)(B)(ii) of the Proposed Amendments supports the conclusion that offering customers free standard shipping evidences that any other shipping service for which a seller charges customers (i.e., expedited shipping) are separately contracted for and thus nontaxable.  Arco Industrial Gas Division, The BOC Group, Inc. v. Department of Revenue, 223 Ill. App. 3d 386, 392 (4th Dist. 1991), which is cited in the Proposed Amendments, also supports this conclusion.  Several defendants have successfully raised this defense in response to Illinois False Claims Act litigation alleging a failure to collect [...]

Continue Reading




read more

STAY CONNECTED

TOPICS

ARCHIVES

jd supra readers choice top firm 2023 badge