(A) Tax imposed. A tax will be imposed on the following acts or privileges:
(1) The act or privilege of originating in the village or receiving in the village intrastate telecommunications by a person at the rate of 5% of the gross charge for such telecommunications purchased at retail from a retailer by the person. However, the tax is not imposed on such act or privilege to the extent the act or privilege may not, under the Constitution of the United States, be made the subject of taxation by municipalities in this state.
(2) The act or privilege of originating in the village or receiving in the village interstate telecommunications by a person at the rate of 5% of the gross charge for such telecommunications purchased at retail from a retailer by such person. To prevent actual multi-state taxation of the act or privilege that is subject to taxation under this paragraph, any taxpayer, upon proof that the taxpayer has paid a tax in another state on such event, shall be allowed a credit against any tax enacted pursuant to this subsection to the extent of the amount of the tax properly due and paid in such other state which was not previously allowed as a credit against any other state or local tax in this state. However, the tax is not imposed on the act or privilege to the extent the act or privilege may not, under the Constitution and statutes of the United States, be made the subject of taxation by municipalities in this state.
(B) Collection.
(1) The tax authorized by this section shall be collected from the taxpayer by a retailer maintaining a place of business in this state and making or effectuating the sale at retail and shall be remitted by the retailer to the village. Any tax required to be collected pursuant to an ordinance authorized by this section and any such tax collected by the retailer shall constitute a debt owed by the retailer to the village. Retailers shall collect the tax from the taxpayer by adding the tax to the gross charge for the act or privilege of originating or receiving telecommunications when sold for use. The tax authorized by this section shall constitute a debt of the purchaser to the retailer who provides the taxable services until paid, and if unpaid, is recoverable at law in the same manner as the original charge for the taxable services. If the retailer fails to collect the tax from the taxpayer, then the taxpayer shall be required to pay the tax directly to the village.
(2) Whenever possible, the tax authorized by this section shall, when collected, be stated as a distinct item separate and apart from the gross charge for telecommunications.
(C) Definitions. For the purpose of the taxes authorized by this section:
AMOUNT PAID. The amount charged to the taxpayer’s service address in the village regardless of where the amount is billed or paid.
GROSS CHARGE. The amount paid for the act or privilege of originating or receiving telecommunications in the village and for all services rendered in connection therewith, valued in money whether paid in money or otherwise, including cash, credits, services and property of every kind or nature, and shall be determined without any deduction on account of the cost of such telecommunications, the cost of the materials used, labor or service costs or any other expense whatsoever. In case credit is extended, the amount thereof shall be included only as and when paid. However, GROSS CHARGE shall not include:
(a) Any amounts added to a purchaser’s bill because of a charge made pursuant to:
1. The tax imposed by this section;
2. Additional charges added to a purchaser’s bill pursuant to Section 9-222 of the Public Utilities Act, ILCS Chapter 220, Act 5;
3. The tax imposed by the Telecommunications Excise Tax Act, ILCS Chapter 35, Act 630; or
4. The tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Code, 26 USC § 4261;
(b) Charges for a sent collect telecommunications received outside of the village;
(c) Charges for leased time on equipment or charges for the storage of data or information or subsequent retrieval or the processing of data or information intended to change its form or content. The equipment includes, but is not limited to, the use of calculators, computers, data processing equipment, tabulating equipment or accounting equipment and also includes the usage of computers under a time-sharing agreement;
(d) Charges for customer equipment, including such equipment that is leased or rented by the customer from any source, wherein such charges are disaggregated and separately identified from other charges;
(e) Charges to business enterprises certified under Section 9-222.1 of the Public Utilities Act, ILCS Chapter 220, Act 5, to the extent of the exemption and during the period of time specified by the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs;
(f) Charges for telecommunications and all services and equipment provided in connection therewith between a parent corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries or between wholly owned subsidiaries when the tax imposed under this section has already been paid to a retailer and only to the extent that the charges between the parent corporation and wholly owned subsidiaries or between wholly owned subsidiaries represent expense allocation between the corporations and not the generation of profit for the corporation rendering the service;
(g) Bad debts (
BAD DEBT means any portion of a debt that is related to a sale at retail for which gross charges are not otherwise deductible or excludable that has become worthless or uncollectible, as determined under applicable federal income tax standards; if the portion of the debt deemed to be bad is subsequently paid, the retailer shall report and pay the tax on that portion during the reporting period in which the payment is made); or
(h) Charges paid by inserting coins in coin-operated telecommunication devices.
INTERSTATE TELECOMMUNI- CATIONS. All telecommunications that either originate or terminate outside this state.
INTRASTATE TELECOMMUNI- CATIONS. All telecommunications that originate and terminate within this state.
PURCHASE AT RETAIL. The acquisition, consumption or use of telecommunications through a sale at retail.
RETAILER. Every person engaged in the business of making sales at retail as defined in this section. The village may, upon application, authorize the collection of the tax imposed by any retailer not maintaining a place of business within this state who, to the satisfaction of the village, furnishes adequate security to insure collection and payment of the tax. The RETAILER shall be issued, without charge, a permit to collect the tax. When so authorized, it shall
be the duty of the retailer to collect the tax upon all of the gross charges for telecommunications in the village in the same manner and subject to the same requirements as a retailer maintaining a place of business within the village.
RETAILER MAINTAINING A PLACE OF BUSINESS IN THIS STATE (or any like term). Any retailer having or maintaining within this state, directly or by a subsidiary, an office, distribution facilities, transmission facilities, sales office, warehouse or other place of business or any agent or other representative operating within the state under the authority of the retailer or its subsidiary, irrespective of whether the place of business or agent or other representative is located here permanently or temporarily, or whether the retailer or subsidiary is licensed to do business in this state.
SALE AT RETAIL. The transmitting, supplying or furnishing of telecommunications and all services rendered in connection therewith for a consideration, to persons other than the federal and state governments, and state universities created by statute and other than between a parent corporation and its wholly owned subsidiaries or between wholly owned subsidiaries, when the tax has already been
paid to a retailer and the gross charge made by one such corporation to another such corporation is not greater than the gross charge paid to the retailer for their use or consumption and not for resale.
SERVICE ADDRESS. The location of telecommunications equipment from which telecommunications services are originated or at which telecommunications services are received by a taxpayer. If this is not a defined location, as in the case of mobile phones, paging systems, maritime systems, air-to-ground systems and the like, SERVICE ADDRESS shall mean the location of a taxpayer’s primary use of the telecommunication equipment as defined by telephone number, authorization code or location in Illinois where bills are sent.
TAXPAYER. A person who individually or through his or her agents, employees or permittees engages in an act or privilege of originating in the village or receiving in the village telecommunications and who incurs a tax liability under any regulation authorized by this section.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS. In addition to the usual and popular meaning, includes, but is not limited to messages or information transmitted through use of local, toll and wide area telephone service, channel services, telegraph services, teletypewriter service, computer exchange services, cellular mobile telecommunications service, specialized mobile radio services, paging service or any form of mobile and portable one-way or two-way communications, or any other transmission of messages or information by electronic or similar means, between or among points by wire, cable, fiber optics, laser, microwave, radio, satellite or similar facilities. The definition of TELECOMMUNICATIONS shall not include value- added services in which computer processing applications are used to act on the form, content, code and protocol of the information for purposes other than transmission. TELECOMMUNICATIONS shall not include purchase of telecommunications by a telecommunications service provider for use as a component part of the service provided by him or her to the ultimate retail consumer who originates or terminates the taxable end-to-end communications.
Carrier access charges, right of access charges, charges for use of inter-company facilities, and all telecommunications resold in the subsequent provision used as a component of, or integrated into, end-to-end telecommunications service shall be non- taxable as sales for resale.
(D) Resale number.
(1) If a person who originates or receives telecommunications in the village claims to be a reseller of the telecommunications, the person shall apply to the village for a resale number. The applicant shall state facts which will show the village why the applicant is not liable for tax under this section on any of the purchases and shall furnish such additional information as the village may reasonably require.
(2) Upon approval of the application, the village shall assign a resale number to the applicant and shall certify the number to the applicant. The village may cancel any number which is obtained through misrepresentation or which is used to send or receive the telecommunications tax-free when the actions in fact are not for resale or which no longer applies because of the person’s having discontinued the making of resales.
(3) Except as provided in this section, the act or privilege of sending or receiving telecommunications in this state shall not be made tax- free on the ground of being a sale for resale unless the person has an active resale number from the village and furnishes that number to the retailer in connection with certifying to the retailer that any sale to the person is nontaxable because of being for resale.
(E) Returns, filing, contents, payment of tax.
(1) On or before the last day of April of each year, each retailer shall make a return to the Village Manager for the months of January, February and March, stating:
(a) Its name;
(b) Its principle place of business;
(c) The gross charges during those months upon the basis of which the tax is imposed;
(d) Amount of tax;
(e) Such other reasonable and related information as the village may require.
(2) On or before the last day of every third month thereafter, each retailer shall make a like return to the Village Manager for a corresponding three- month period.
(F) Payments. The retailer making the return herein provided for shall, at the time of making the return, pay to the Village Manager the amount of tax herein imposed; provided, that in connection with any return the retailer may, if he or she so elects, report and pay an amount based upon his or her total billings of business subject to the tax during the period for which the return is made (exclusive of any amounts previously billed) with prompt adjustments of later payments based upon any differences between the billings and the taxable gross charges.
(G) Erroneous payment. If it shall appear that an amount of tax has been paid which was not due under the provisions of this section, whether as the result of a mistake of fact or an error of law, then the amount shall be credited against any tax due, or to become due, under this section from the taxpayer who made the erroneous payment; provided, that no amounts erroneously paid more than three years prior to the filing of a claim therefor shall be so credited.
(H) Books and records of retailer. Every retailer under this section shall keep books, records and other documents which are adequate to reflect that the tax imposed by this section is being collected in the proper amount. All books and records and other papers and documents required by this section to be kept shall, at all times during business hours of the day, be subject to inspection by the village or its duly authorized agents and employees. Books and records reflecting gross charges during any period with respect to which the tax is imposed shall be preserved until the expiration of three years following the period the tax was incurred, unless the village, in writing authorizes their destruction or disposal at an earlier date.
(I) Failure to make return or fraudulent return. Any retailer who fails to make a return, who makes a fraudulent return or who wilfully violates any other provision of this subchapter is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500 and in addition shall be liable in a civil action for the amount of tax due.
(`70 Code, § 20-21.1) (Ord. 555, passed 12-14-93; Ord. 594, passed 4-11-95)