Pub 5. 2015 Issue 3

20 AUTOMOBILE DEALER NEWS ILLINOIS www.illinoisdealers.com Motor Vehicle Dealer Legal Landscape T he more the legal landscape for motor vehicle dealers changes, the more it stays the same. With that thought in mind, here is a look at recent Illinois legislation that took effect at the start of 2015 or will take effect later this year and some reminders about some recurring legal issues that affect dealers. If you have any questions about these or other legal issues af- fecting your dealership, please contact IADA at (217) 553-3630 or at ldoll@illinoisdealers.com. • Zero Dollar Sales Tax Returns Must be Filed. Motor Vehicle dealers must file a sales tax return (Form ST-556 or Form ST-556-LSE) for each vehicle they sell or lease, including transactions that are not subject to tax. Pursuant to legislation signed into law in 2014, the Department of Revenue has begun to impose a penalty of $100 per return that is not filed by the statutory 20- day deadline. If you make a tax exempt sale (dealer trade, auction sale, sale to an exempt purchaser, etc.), you must still file form ST-556 or ST-556-LSE within 20 days. IADA has heard from dealers who have been assessed with substantial penalties for failure to file tax returns for tax-exempt transactions. Please make sure to timely file Form ST-556 or ST-556-LSE whenever you sell or lease a vehicle to a tax exempt customer. • Chicago Minimum Wage Increase. On July 1st, Chicago employers will be required to pay their employees a minimum wage of $10 per hour. The initial increase will be followed by another 4 annual increases that will raise Chicago’s minimum wage to $13 per hour on July 1, 2019. On July 1, 2020 and an- nually thereafter, the Chicago minimum wage will be subject to an annual increase based on the Consumer Price Increase. These minimum wage increases apply only to Chicago employers. At this time, the minimum wage in the rest of the state remains at $8.25 per hour, but stay tuned for further developments. • Secure Choice Savings Program Act. Legislation that will become effective on June 1st to create the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program will eventually require employers with at least 25 employees that do not offer their employees a qualified retirement plan to establish a payroll deposit retirement savings arrangement to allow each employee to participate n the State-run retirement savings program. Affected employers who do not offer a qualified retirement plan will be required to automatically enroll all of their em-