First EV Steering Committee Meeting
This Wednesday I participated in the first EV Steering Committee meeting of the IDOT-funded research project: EV Infrastructure Plan for Illinois. The work is facilitated by Chamber member, the University of Illinois.
The first meeting was mostly a setup for the work of looking at the needs of statewide charging infrastructure. I learned some cool tidbits:
- There are currently 39,000 electric vehicles in Illinois.
- Lake and DuPage Counties are leading the way but no county has more than 0.76% adoption
- 25% of energy consumption and 33% of CO2 emissions are attributed to transportation
I look forward to future meetings. Charging infrastructure, or lack thereof, is currently a major impediment towards the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.
Another BIPA Amicus Filed: Tims v. Black Horse Carriers
This week the Illinois Chamber of Commerce filed another brief on BIPA with the Illinois Supreme Court. In the brief, we argue that BIPA cases should be subject to a one-year statute of limitations. If we prevail, this will significantly reduce liability. Once again, our friends at Shook, Hardy & Bacon have done outstanding work on behalf of the business community.
Data Center Rulemaking
Today's Illinois Register contained one new proposed rulemaking by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has proposed new rules for the Data Center Investment Program. You will recall that the Department proposed rules for the data center program about a year ago, but never moved forward to adopt the earlier rulemaking and the earlier rulemaking lapsed by operation of law due to the requirement in the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act that a rulemaking must be adopted within one year of the date it is proposed in the Illinois Register.
The Department provided this description of the new data center rules:
"Provides rules for companies seeking to participate in the data center investment program, including definitions, eligibility criteria, and application process and procedure. The rules also provide details regarding entering into, and the contents of, memorandum of understanding to be entered into between the Department and the applicant business. Finally, these rules detail the process and procedure applicable to noncompliant participants."
Today's Illinois Register contained 4 new rulemakings amending the Retailers' Occupation Tax, Use Tax, Service Occupation Tax and Service Use Tax rules dealing with "verified credits."
The Department provided the following description of the Retailers' Occupation Tax rulemaking:
This new regulation explains the unique nature of a verified credit and the ways it can be used. Verified credits represent a unique situation in sales taxes. They arise when a taxpayer remits more tax than is due, and the Department can verify this overpayment from the face of the return. This is in contrast to situations where a credit memorandum is involved, because in these situations, the taxpayer must prove the tax was overpaid before getting a credit or refund (e.g., tax was erroneously remitted on a sale that should have been tax exempt and the retailer is able to document this exemption – after giving back the taxes to the purchaser that erroneously remitted them).
The rule explains the different ways a verified credit may be used. For instance, it may be rolled over in the taxpayer's account to offset liability of the taxpayer that arises under the Retailers' Occupation Tax Act, the Use Tax Act, the Service Occupation Tax Act, or the Service Use Tax Act subsequent to the origination of the verified credit. It may also be converted to a credit memorandum in several ways. Once converted, the resulting credit memorandum may be assigned to other taxpayers in the same manner as other credit memoranda issued to taxpayers by the Department. The rule explains the provisions of this regulation apply equally to verified credits authorized under the provisions of other tax acts administered by the Department. The rule establishes new procedures for the conversion of verified credits into credit memoranda. It has long been the Department's policy that verified credits can be converted to credit memos, but only within 3 to 3.5 years after they arose. Since the Department can verify the overpayment from the face of the return and the taxpayer has the immediate use of the verified credit to apply against its liability without the need to file a claim for credit and prove the overpayment, the new rule provides that there is no statute of limitations for converting a verified credit to a credit memo – it can be converted at any time after the verified credit arises. However, the rule also reiterates the longstanding Uniform Penalty and Interest Act regulation found at 86 Ill. Adm. Code 700.230(a)(2) stating that no interest is paid on verified credits, clarifying that this applies to situations when a verified credit is converted to a credit memo. "
First Part of Future of Work Taskforce Draft
Last week, I promised I’d review the draft of the report and give you the rundown. First, a caution that what I was given was just the first portion of a draft copy. That warning aside, I saw nothing of overt concern in this portion. There was lots of discussion about the state of the economy, COVID and what constitutes a good job. The University of Illinois is promoting their quality jobs index as a way to quantify what makes a good job.
There was nothing aside a single sentence mention of the gig economy. A dismantling of the gig economy and Illinois’ independent contractor system was my foremost concern heading into this taskforce so I consider this a win.
Contact me if you’d like to look at a copy of the initial portion of the draft.
The next meeting is April, 15th.
