HomeMy WebLinkAboutORDINANCES-1994-007-O-942/4/94
• 2/24/94
7-0-94
AN ORDINANCE
TELECOMMUNICATIONS TAX
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
EVANSTON, COOK COUNTY, ILLINOIS:
SECTION 1: That Section 3-2-9 of the City Code of the
City of Evanston is hereby amended by adding the following:
3-2-9-8-1: A tax is imposed on any or all of the
following acts or privileges:
(1) The act or privilege of originating in Evanston or
receiving in Evanston intrastate telecommunications by
a person at a rate not to exceed 50 of the gross
charge for such telecommunications purchased at retail
from a retailer by such person. However, such tax is
not imposed on such act or privilege to the extent such
act or privilege may not, under the Constitution and
statutes of the United States, be made the subject of
taxation by municipalities in Illinois.
(2) The act or privilege of originating in Evanston or
receiving in Evanston interstate telecommunications by
a person at a rate not to exceed 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.an ordinance authorized by
this paragraph to the extent of the amount of such 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, such tax is not
imposed on the act or privilege to the extent such act
or privilege may not, under the Constitution and
statutes of the United States, be made the subject of
taxation by municipalities in Illinois.
3-2-9-8-2: The tax authorized by this ordinance 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 such retailers to the City. Any tax
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required'to be collected pursuant -to this ordinance and
any such tax collected by such retailer shall
constitute a debt owed by the retailer to the City.
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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 in the manner
prescribed by the City. The tax authorized by this
ordinance shall constitute a debt of the purchaser to
the retailer who provides such taxable services until
paid and, if unpaid, is recoverable at law in the same
manner as the original charge for such 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 City in the manner provided
by the City.
3-2-9-8-3: The tax imposed by this ordinance shall be
in addition to the payment of money, or value of
products or services furnished to the City of Evanston
by the taxpayer as compensation for the use of its
streets, alleys, or other public places, or
installation and maintenance therein, thereon, or
thereunder of poles, wires, pipes, or other equipment
used in the operation of the taxpayer's business.
3-2-9-8-4: For the purpose of the taxes authorized by
the ordinance:
(1) "Amount Paid" means the amount charged to the
taxpayer's service address in Evanston regardless of
where such amount is billed or paid.
(2) "Gross Charge" means the amount paid for the act or
privilege of originating or receiving
telecommunications in Evanston 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 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 added to a purchaser's bill because of a
charge made pursuant to: (i) the tax imposed by
this Section, (ii) additional charges added to a
purchaser's bill pursuant to Section 9-222 of the
Public Utilities Act, (iii) the tax imposed by
the Telecommunications Excise Tax Act, or (iv)
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the tax imposed by Section 4251 of the Internal
• Revenue Code;
(B) charges for a sent collect telecommunication
received outside of such municipality;
(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. Such 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
to the extent of such 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 such 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
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(H) charges paid by inserting coins in coin -
operated telecommunication devices. •
(3) "Interstate telecommunications" means all
telecommunications that either originate or terminate
outside Illinois.
(4) "Intrastate telecommunications" means all
telecommunications that originate and terminate within
Illinois.
(5) "Person" means any natural individual, firm trust,
estate, partnership, association, joint stock company,
joint venture, corporation, or a receiver, trustee,
guardian or other representative appointed by order of
any court, the Federal and State governments, including
State universities created 'by statute, or any city,
town, county, or other political subdivision of this
State.
(6) "Purchase at retail" means the acquisition,
consumption or use of telecommunications through a sale
at retail.
(7) "Retailer" means and includes every person engaged
in the business of making sales at retail as defined in
this Section. The city may, in its discretion, upon
application, authorize the collection of the tax
hereby imposed by any retailer not maintaining a place
of business within this State, who to the satisfaction
of the city, furnishes adequate security to insure
collection and payment of the tax. Such retailer shall
be issued, without charge, a permit to collect such
tax. When so authorized, it shall be the duty of such
retailer to collect the tax upon all of the gross
charges for telecommunications in such municipality in
the same manner and subject to the same requirements as
a retailer maintaining a place of business within such
municipality.
(8) "Retailer maintaining a place of business in this
State," or any like term, means and includes any
retailer having or maintaining within Illinois,
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 Illinois under
the authority of the retailer or its subsidiary,
irrespective of whether such place of business or agent
or other representative is located here permanently or
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temporarily, or whether such retailer or subsidiary is
• licensed to do business in Illinois.
(9) "Sale at retail" means 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, 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.
(10) "Service address" means 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 Is primary use of the
telecommunications equipment as defined by telephone
number, authorization code, or location in Illinois
where bills are sent.
(11) "Taxpayer" means a person who individually -or
through his agents, employees, or permittee engages in
the act or privilege of originating in Evanston or
receiving in Evanston telecommunications and who
incurs a tax liability hereunder.
(12) "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 other 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, fiberoptics, laser, microwave, radio,
satellite or similar facilities. The definition of
"telecommunications" shall not include value added
services in which computer processing applications are
you may used to act on the form, content, code and
protocol of the information for purposes other then
transmission. "Telecommunications" shall not include
purchase of telecommunications by a telecommunications
service provided for use as a component part of the
service provided by him 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 inner -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.
(13) If a person, who originates or receives
telecommunications in Evanston, claims to be a reseller
of such telecommunications, such person shall apply to
the City for a resale number. Such applicant shall
state facts which will show the City why such applicant
is not liable for tax under this ordinance on any of
such purchases and shall furnish such additional
information as the City may reasonably require.
Upon approval of the application, the City shall
assign a resale number to the applicant and shall
certify such number to the applicant. The City may
cancel any number which is obtained through
misrepresentation, or which is used to send or receive
such telecommunication tax-free when such actions in
fact are not for resale, or which no longer applies
because of the person's having discontinued the making
of resales.
Except as provided hereinabove 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 municipality and furnishes that number to
the retailer in connection with certifying to the retailer
that any sale to such person is non-taxable because of being
a sale for resale.
3-2-9-8-5: Any tax payer who fails to make a return,
or who makes a fraudulent return, or who wilfully
violates any other provision of this ordinance is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof,
shall be fined not less than one hundred dollars ($100)
nor more than five hundred dollars ($500), and in
addition shall be liable in a civil action for the
amount of tax due, plus interest and costs.
SECTION 4: All ordinances or parts of ordinances in
conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
SECTION 5: This ordinance shall be in full force
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and effect from and after April 1, 1994, following its passage,
approval and publication in the manner provided by law.
Introduc
Adopted:
A TES
City C erk
A pawed s to firm:
Corporation Counsel
/' , 1994
7
, 1994
1994
Mayor