A. Definitions:
ACT: The "Local Government Taxpayers' Bill of Rights Act".
CODE: Village Code.
LOCAL TAX ADMINISTRATOR: Refers to the Director of Finance and is charged with the administration and collection of the locally imposed and administered taxes, including staff, employees or agents to the extent they are authorized by the Local Tax Administrator to act in the Local Tax Administrator's stead. The authority exercised by the Local Tax Administrator shall not be inconsistent with this section and the Act.
TAX: Any pecuniary burden imposed by the Village on individuals or entities to support Village government that is not a permit or other fee, other than infrastructure maintenance fee, is not collected or administered by a department or agency of the State of Illinois, or is not a tax on real property under the Illinois Property Tax Code. This shall include, but not be limited to, any of the following taxes that may now, or in the future be collected or administered by the Village:
Food and Beverage Tax
Hotel/Motel Tax
Real Estate Transfer Tax
Telecommunications Tax
TAXPAYER: Any person required to pay any locally imposed and administered tax and generally includes the person upon whom the legal incidence of such tax is placed and with respect to consumer taxes, includes the business or entity required to collect and pay the locally imposed and administered tax to the Village.
VILLAGE: The Village of Elk Grove Village.
B. Late Payment: Any notice, payment, remittance or other filing required to be made to the village pursuant to any tax ordinance shall be considered late unless it is: 1) physically received by the village on or before the due date, or 2) received in an envelope or other container displaying a valid, readable U.S. postmark dated on or before the due date, properly addressed to the village, with adequate postage prepaid.
C. Application Of Payments: Notwithstanding any provision in the code to the contrary, any payments designated by a taxpayer as payment of a particular tax liability shall be applied to that taxpayer's liabilities pertaining to the particular tax as follows: 1) first to the interest accrued on outstanding tax liabilities; 2) second to the outstanding tax liability; 3) third to any penalties due on outstanding tax liabilities; and 4) fourth to current tax liabilities.
D. Determination Of Tax Liability: To collect overdue taxes, a notice of determination of tax liability shall be sent to the taxpayer by registered or certified mail within six (6) years after the calendar year when the tax was due. However, if more than seventy five percent (75%) of the tax due has been paid, a determination notice must be sent within four (4) years after the end of the calendar year when the tax was due.
Any notice of determination of tax liability shall include the following:
1. Reason for liability.
2. Amount of tax, interest and penalty due on the date of the determination and information on how interest and penalties accrue.
3. Procedure for appeal.
4. Information regarding the right of the village to audit the taxpayer's books and records for a particular period and its obligation to refund overpayments.
E. Appeal: Any taxpayer may within forty five (45) days of the date of receipt of a notice of determination of tax liability or at any time before a current tax becomes due file a written protest and petition for a hearing before the local tax administrator to appeal the tax liability. The hearing time and date shall be fixed by the local tax administrator within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the written protest and petition unless the taxpayer requests a later date convenient to all parties.
If a written protest and petition for hearing is not filed within the forty five (45) day period, the tax determination, audit or assessment shall become a final bill due and owing without further notice.
Upon the showing of reasonable cause by the taxpayer and the full payment of the contested tax liability along with interest accrued as of the due date of the tax, the local tax administrator may reopen or extend the time for filing a written protest and petition for hearing. In no event shall the time for filing a written protest and petition for hearing be reopened or extended for more than thirty (30) days after the expiration of the forty five (45) day period.
F. Credits And Refunds: The village shall not refund or credit any taxes voluntarily paid without written protest at the time of payment in the event that a locally imposed and administered tax is declared invalidly enacted or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction. However, a taxpayer shall not be deemed to have paid the tax voluntarily if the taxpayer lacked knowledge of the facts upon which to protest the taxes at the time of payment or if the taxpayer paid the taxes under duress.
Notwithstanding any provision in this code to the contrary, a taxpayer may make a written claim for a credit or refund for payment of taxes, interest or penalties paid in error for up to four (4) years after the end of the calendar year in which the payment was made. The village shall not grant a credit or refund of locally imposed and administered taxes, interest or penalties to a person who has not paid the amounts directly to the village.
The procedure for claiming a credit or refund of locally imposed and administered taxes, interest or penalties paid in error shall be as follows:
1. The taxpayer shall submit to the local tax administrator in writing a claim for credit or refund together with a statement specifying:
a. The name of the locally imposed and administered tax subject to the claim;
b. The tax period subject to the claim;
c. The date of the tax payment subject to the claim and the canceled check or receipt for the payment;
d. The taxpayer's recalculation, accompanied by an amended or revised tax return, in connection with the claim; and
e. A request for either a refund or credit in connection with the claim to be applied to the amount of tax, interest and penalties overpaid, and, as applicable, related interest on the amount overpaid; provided, however, that there shall be no refund and only a credit given in the event the taxpayer owes any monies to the village.
The local tax administrator shall determine whether a credit or refund is justified and shall respond to the taxpayer with the decision in writing within thirty (30) days of receipt of the claim. Tax amounts paid in error shall bear interest, as applicable, at the rate of three percent (3%) simple interest per year.
G. Audit Procedures: Any request for a proposed audit pursuant to any locally administered tax shall comply with the notice requirements of this section. Each notice of audit shall contain the following information:
1. The tax; and
2. The time period of the audit; and
3. A brief description of the books and records to be made available for the auditor.
Any audit shall be conducted during normal business hours and if the date and time selected by the local tax administrator is not agreeable to the taxpayer, another date and time may be requested by the taxpayer within fourteen (14) days after the originally designated audit during normal business hours.
The taxpayer may request an extension of time to have an audit conducted. The audit shall be conducted between seven (7) and thirty (30) days from the date the notice is given, unless the taxpayer and the local tax administrator agreed to some other convenient time. In the event the taxpayer is unable to comply with the audit on the date in question, the taxpayer may request another date within fourteen (14) days, approved in writing, that is convenient to the taxpayer.
H. Voluntary Application For Determination: For any locally imposed and administered tax for which a taxpayer has not received notice of an audit or a notice of determination of a tax liability, a taxpayer may file a written application to the local tax administrator for a determination of the taxpayer's liability pertaining to a particular tax.
A taxpayer filing a voluntary application for determination must agree to pay the amount of tax due, along with interest of one percent (1%), for all periods prior to the filing of the application but not more than four (4) years before the date of filing the application.
A taxpayer filing a valid voluntary application may not be liable for any additional tax, interest, or penalty for any period before the date the application was filed. However, if the taxpayer incorrectly determined and underpaid the amount of tax due, the taxpayer is liable for the underpaid tax along with applicable interest on the underpaid tax, unless the underpayment was the result of fraud on the part of the taxpayer, in which case the application shall be deemed invalid and void.
The payment of tax and interest must be made no later than ninety (90) days after the filing of the voluntary application or the date agreed to by the local tax administrator. However, any additional amounts owed as a result of an underpayment of tax and interest previously paid under this section must be paid within ninety (90) days after a final determination and the exhaustion of all appeals of the additional amount owed or the date agreed to by the local tax administrator, whichever is longer.
I. Liens: In the first month of each year, the local tax administrator shall cause all liens against taxpayers to be reviewed. The village shall at its sole expense release improper liens, correct the taxpayer's credit record and correct any public disclosure of said lien.
J. Interest On Late Payments, Underpayments, Nonpayments: Notwithstanding any provision in the code to the contrary, any tax not paid on the date due shall accrue interest at one and one-quarter percent (1.25%) of the amount due for each month or part of a month the tax remains unpaid commencing on the first day after the day on which the tax became due.
K. Penalties For Late Filing And Payments:
1. A late payment penalty of five percent (5%) of the amount of tax due shall be charged against any taxpayer whose tax payment is not made on or before the date the tax is due; and
2. A late filing penalty of five percent (5%) of the amount of tax due for the period in which a report or return is required to be filed shall be charged against any taxpayer who fails to file, before the date that a determination of liability is issued, a report or return for that period.
3. The penalty for failure to file within the time or manner provided by the controlling tax ordinance and prior to the village issuing a notice of tax delinquency or notice of tax liability shall be equal to ten percent (10%) of the total tax due for the applicable reporting period for which the return was required to be filed.
4. A late filing or payment penalty shall not apply if a failure to file penalty is imposed by the controlling tax ordinance.
5. Any penalty may be abated by the local tax administrator if reasonable cause for nonpayment or failure to file is shown.
L. Installment Contracts: If the local tax administrator or local tax ordinance allows installment payment agreements for delinquent tax amounts, the local tax administrator may cancel any installment contract so entered into if the taxpayer fails to pay any amount due and owing or fails to cure the delinquency in the allowable time supplied by the local tax administrator or fails to demonstrate good faith in restructuring any installment payment agreement or contract.
Upon written notice by the local tax administrator that the payment is thirty (30) days delinquent, the taxpayer shall have fourteen (14) days to cure any delinquency. If the taxpayer fails to cure the delinquency within the fourteen (14) day period, the installment agreement or contract shall be canceled without further notice to the taxpayer.
M. Publication Of Tax Ordinances: Any locally administered tax ordinance shall be published via normal or standard publishing requirements. The posting of a tax ordinance on the internet shall satisfy the publication requirements. Copies of all tax ordinances shall be made available to the public upon request.
N. Application: This section shall be liberally construed and administered to supplement all of the village's tax ordinances. To the extent that any tax ordinance is in conflict with or inconsistent with this section, this section shall be controlling.
O. Severability: If any section, paragraph or provision of this section shall be held to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason, the invalidity or unenforceability of such section, paragraph or provision shall not affect any of the remaining provisions of this section.
(Ord. 2804, 1-9-2001, eff. retroactive to 1-1-2001; amd. Ord. 2914, 11-19-2002)
Statutory reference:
35 ILCS 200/1-1 et seq.