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90_HB0264
220 ILCS 5/2-202 from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 2-202
Amends the Public Utilities Act. Adds a Section caption
to a Section concerning the public utility tax.
LRB9000753JSgc
LRB9000753JSgc
1 AN ACT to amend the Public Utilities Act by changing
2 Section 2-202.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Public Utilities Act is amended by
6 changing Section 2-202 as follows:
7 (220 ILCS 5/2-202) (from Ch. 111 2/3, par. 2-202)
8 Sec. 2-202. Public utility tax.
9 (a) It is declared to be the public policy of this State
10 that in order to maintain and foster the effective regulation
11 of public utilities under this Act in the interests of the
12 People of the State of Illinois and the public utilities as
13 well, the public utilities subject to regulation under this
14 Act and which enjoy the privilege of operating as public
15 utilities in this State, shall bear the expense of
16 administering this Act by means of a tax on such privilege
17 measured by the annual gross revenue of such public utilities
18 in the manner provided in this Section. For purposes of this
19 Section, "expense of administering this Act" includes any
20 costs incident to studies, whether made by the Commission or
21 under contract entered into by the Commission, concerning
22 environmental pollution problems caused or contributed to by
23 public utilities and the means for eliminating or abating
24 those problems. Such proceeds shall be deposited in the
25 Public Utility Fund in the State treasury.
26 (b) All of the ordinary and contingent expenses of the
27 Commission incident to the administration of this Act shall
28 be paid out of the Public Utility Fund except the
29 compensation of the members of the Commission which shall be
30 paid from the General Revenue Fund. Notwithstanding other
31 provisions of this Act to the contrary, the ordinary and
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1 contingent expenses of the Commission incident to the
2 administration of the Illinois Commercial Transportation Law
3 may be paid from appropriations from the Public Utility Fund
4 through the end of fiscal year 1986.
5 (c) A tax is imposed upon each public utility subject to
6 the provisions of this Act equal to .08% of its gross revenue
7 for each calendar year commencing with the calendar year
8 beginning January 1, 1982, except that the Commission may, by
9 rule, establish a different rate no greater than 0.1%.
10 (d) Annual gross revenue returns shall be filed in
11 accordance with paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection (d).
12 (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this
13 subsection (d), on or before January 10 of each year each
14 public utility subject to the provisions of this Act
15 shall file with the Commission an estimated annual gross
16 revenue return containing an estimate of the amount of
17 its gross revenue for the calendar year commencing
18 January 1 of said year and a statement of the amount of
19 tax due for said calendar year on the basis of that
20 estimate. Public utilities may also file revised returns
21 containing updated estimates and updated amounts of tax
22 due during the calendar year. These revised returns, if
23 filed, shall form the basis for quarterly payments due
24 during the remainder of the calendar year. In addition,
25 on or before February 15 of each year, each public
26 utility shall file an amended return showing the actual
27 amount of gross revenues shown by the company's books and
28 records as of December 31 of the previous year. Forms and
29 instructions for such estimated, revised, and amended
30 returns shall be devised and supplied by the Commission.
31 (2) Beginning January 1, 1993, the requirements of
32 paragraph (1) of this subsection (d) shall not apply to
33 any public utility in any calendar year for which the
34 total tax the public utility owes under this Section is
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1 less than $1,000. For such public utilities with respect
2 to such years, the public utility shall file with the
3 Commission, on or before January 31 of the following
4 year, an annual gross revenue return for the year and a
5 statement of the amount of tax due for that year on the
6 basis of such a return. Forms and instructions for such
7 returns and corrected returns shall be devised and
8 supplied by the Commission.
9 (e) All returns submitted to the Commission by a public
10 utility as provided in this subsection (e) or subsection (d)
11 of this Section shall contain or be verified by a written
12 declaration by an appropriate officer of the public utility
13 that the return is made under the penalties of perjury. The
14 Commission may audit each such return submitted and may,
15 under the provisions of Section 5-101 of this Act, take such
16 measures as are necessary to ascertain the correctness of the
17 returns submitted. The Commission has the power to direct the
18 filing of a corrected return by any utility which has filed
19 an incorrect return and to direct the filing of a return by
20 any utility which has failed to submit a return. A
21 taxpayer's signing a fraudulent return under this Section is
22 perjury, as defined in Section 32-2 of the Criminal Code of
23 1961.
24 (f) (1) For all public utilities subject to paragraph
25 (1) of subsection (d), at least one quarter of the annual
26 amount of tax due under subsection (c) shall be paid to the
27 Commission on or before the tenth day of January, April,
28 July, and October of the calendar year subject to tax. In
29 the event that an adjustment in the amount of tax due should
30 be necessary as a result of the filing of an amended or
31 corrected return under subsection (d) or subsection (e) of
32 this Section, the amount of any deficiency shall be paid by
33 the public utility together with the amended or corrected
34 return and the amount of any excess shall, after the filing
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1 of a claim for credit by the public utility, be returned to
2 the public utility in the form of a credit memorandum in the
3 amount of such excess or be refunded to the public utility in
4 accordance with the provisions of subsection (k) of this
5 Section. However, if such deficiency or excess is less than
6 $1, then the public utility need not pay the deficiency and
7 may not claim a credit.
8 (2) Any public utility subject to paragraph (2) of
9 subsection (d) shall pay the amount of tax due under
10 subsection (c) on or before January 31 next following the end
11 of the calendar year subject to tax. In the event that an
12 adjustment in the amount of tax due should be necessary as a
13 result of the filing of a corrected return under subsection
14 (e), the amount of any deficiency shall be paid by the public
15 utility at the time the corrected return is filed. Any excess
16 tax payment by the public utility shall be returned to it
17 after the filing of a claim for credit, in the form of a
18 credit memorandum in the amount of the excess. However, if
19 such deficiency or excess is less than $1, the public utility
20 need not pay the deficiency and may not claim a credit.
21 (g) Each installment or required payment of the tax
22 imposed by subsection (c) becomes delinquent at midnight of
23 the date that it is due. Failure to make a payment as
24 required by this Section shall result in the imposition of a
25 late payment penalty, an underestimation penalty, or both, as
26 provided by this subsection. The late payment penalty shall
27 be the greater of:
28 (1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that
29 the installment or required payment is unpaid or
30 (2) an amount equal to the difference between what
31 should have been paid on the due date, based upon the
32 most recently filed estimate, and what was actually paid,
33 times one percent, for each month or portion of a month
34 that the installment or required payment goes unpaid.
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1 This penalty may be assessed as soon as the installment
2 or required payment becomes delinquent.
3 The underestimation penalty shall apply to those public
4 utilities subject to paragraph (1) of subsection (d) and
5 shall be calculated after the filing of the amended return.
6 It shall be imposed if the amount actually paid on any of the
7 dates specified in subsection (f) is not equal to at least
8 one-fourth of the amount actually due for the year, and shall
9 equal the greater of:
10 (1) $25 for each month or portion of a month that
11 the amount due is unpaid or
12 (2) an amount equal to the difference between what
13 should have been paid, based on the amended return, and
14 what was actually paid as of the date specified in
15 subsection (f), times a percentage equal to 1/12 of the
16 sum of 10% and the percentage most recently established
17 by the Commission for interest to be paid on customer
18 deposits under 83 Ill. Adm. Code 280.70(e)(1), for each
19 month or portion of a month that the amount due goes
20 unpaid, except that no underestimation penalty shall be
21 assessed if the amount actually paid on each of the dates
22 specified in subsection (f) was based on an estimate of
23 gross revenues at least equal to the actual gross
24 revenues for the previous year. The Commission may
25 enforce the collection of any delinquent installment or
26 payment, or portion thereof by legal action or in any
27 other manner by which the collection of debts due the
28 State of Illinois may be enforced under the laws of this
29 State. The executive director or his designee may excuse
30 the payment of an assessed penalty if he determines that
31 enforced collection of the penalty would be unjust.
32 (h) All sums collected by the Commission under the
33 provisions of this Section shall be paid promptly after the
34 receipt of the same, accompanied by a detailed statement
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1 thereof, into the Public Utility Fund in the State treasury.
2 (i) During the month of October of each odd-numbered
3 year the Commission shall:
4 (1) determine the amount of all moneys deposited in
5 the Public Utility Fund during the preceding fiscal
6 biennium plus the balance, if any, in that fund at the
7 beginning of that biennium;
8 (2) determine the sum total of the following items:
9 (A) all moneys expended or obligated against
10 appropriations made from the Public Utility Fund during
11 the preceding fiscal biennium, plus (B) the sum of the
12 credit memoranda then outstanding against the Public
13 Utility Fund, if any; and
14 (3) determine the amount, if any, by which the sum
15 determined as provided in item (1) exceeds the amount
16 determined as provided in item (2).
17 If the amount determined as provided in item (3) of this
18 subsection exceeds $2,500,000, the Commission shall then
19 compute the proportionate amount, if any, which the tax paid
20 hereunder by each utility during the preceding biennium bears
21 to the difference between the amount determined as provided
22 in item (3) of this subsection (i) and $2,500,000, and notify
23 each public utility that it may file during the 3 month
24 period after the date of notification a claim for credit in
25 such proportionate amount. If the proportionate amount is
26 less than $10, no notification will be sent by the
27 Commission, and no right to a claim exists as to that amount.
28 Upon the filing of a claim for credit within the period
29 provided, the Commission shall issue a credit memorandum in
30 such amount to such public utility. Any claim for credit
31 filed after the period provided for in this Section is void.
32 (j) Credit memoranda issued pursuant to subsection (f)
33 and credit memoranda issued after notification and filing
34 pursuant to subsection (i) may be applied for the 2 year
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1 period from the date of issuance, against the payment of any
2 amount due during that period under the tax imposed by
3 subsection (c), or, subject to reasonable rule of the
4 Commission including requirement of notification, may be
5 assigned to any other public utility subject to regulation
6 under this Act. Any application of credit memoranda after the
7 period provided for in this Section is void.
8 (k) The chairman or executive director may make refund
9 of fees, taxes or other charges whenever he shall determine
10 that the person or public utility will not be liable for
11 payment of such fees, taxes or charges during the next 24
12 months and he determines that the issuance of a credit
13 memorandum would be unjust.
14 (Source: P.A. 86-209; 87-971.)