Section Activities Summary

ISBA Central Discussions

Legislation

The Section Council reviewed 317 bills that may affect their members’ practice area. Highlights of the most recent legislative session include:

• House Bill 4537 brings Illinois into compliance with the 2023 U.S. Supreme Court case, Tyler v. Hennepin County by amending the Property Tax Code to authorize counties to acquire and dispose of tax-delinquent property under revised tax deed procedures, including nonjudicial issuance in specified circumstances, while establishing a surplus equity recovery framework for former owners and making related amendments to the Mobile Home Local Services Tax Enforcement Act and associated consumer-protection provisions.
• Public Act 104-0468 is the revenue package for the legislative session. Among other things, it creates the Targeted Advertising Services Tax Act that imposes a tax upon providers of targeted advertising services at the rate of 10% of the gross receipts derived from such targeted advertising services provided in this State. It creates the Digital Asset Tax Act. It imposes a social media platform fee. It provides that hotel marketplace facilitators that meet specified tax remittance thresholds are considered to be hotel operators for the purposes of the taxes under the Act and it provides that a marketplace facilitator that is considered a hotel operator is required to remit the applicable taxes under the Act and any local hotel operators' occupation taxes administered by the Department of Revenue on all rentals, leases, or lettings of Illinois hotel rooms made by the hotel marketplace facilitator or facilitated for marketplace hotel operators to guests. The bill amends the Illinois Income Tax Act to provide that, if a late discretionary hearing for a revised final assessment has been granted after a lien has attached, then the lien shall remain in full force except to the extent to which the final assessment may be reduced by a revised final assessment following the hearing or review. It repeals the Messages Tax Act. It provides that the Auditor General shall conduct a compliance audit in accordance with specified provisions of the Statewide Innovation Development and Economy Act. In Illinois Income Tax Act provisions concerning the entity-level tax, provides that a partnership making an entity-level tax election may elect to determine its tax base using a full distributive share method or an Illinois-sourced income method. It pauses from July 1, 2026, to January 1, 2027, an increase in the motor fuel tax.
• Senate Bill 4203 would require data center operators to enter into and comply with a community benefit agreement with the host community as a condition of receiving or maintaining state tax incentives. The agreement must include annual payments of at least 10% of the property taxes that would have been owed absent incentives, with at least 50% of those funds used to provide financial relief (such as credits or rebates) to local homestead property owners. The bill did not pass.