Illinois Governor Signs Amazon.com Nexus Bill Into Law!

On March 10, 2011, the Governor of Illinois approved P.A. 96-1544 [1] which enacts a click-through use tax nexus law or Amazon.com nexus law similar to New York, North Carolina and Rhode Island. Retailer Use Tax According to the bill, beginning July 1, 2011, a retailer will be considered a "retailer maintaining a place of business" in Illinois under either of the following:

1. a retailer having a contract with a person located in Illinois under which the person, for a commission or other consideration based upon the sale of tangible personal property by the retailer, directly or indirectly refers potential customers to the retailer by a link on the person's Internet website; OR
2. a retailer having a contract with a person located in Illinois under which the retailer sells the same or substantially similar line of products as the person located in Illinois and does so using an identical or substantially similar name, trade name, or trademark as the person located in Illinois; and the retailer provides a commission or other consideration to the person located in Illinois based upon the sale of tangible personal property by the retailer.

For either of these nexus provision to apply, the cumulative gross receipts from sales of tangible personal property by the retailer to customers who are referred to the retailer by all persons in Illinois under such contracts exceed $10,000 during the preceding 4 quarterly periods ending on the last day of March, June, September, and December. Serviceman Use Tax Beginning July 1, 2011, a serviceman is considered "a serviceman maintaining a place of business" in Illinois for service use tax purposes if:

1. the serviceman has a contract with a person located in Illinois under which the person, for a commission or other consideration based on the sale of service by the serviceman, directly or indirectly refers potential customers to the serviceman by a link on the person's Internet website; OR
2. the serviceman has a contract with a person located in Illinois under which the serviceman sells the same or substantially similar line of services as the person located in Illinois and does so using an identical or substantially similar name, trade name, or trademark as the person located in Illinois; and the serviceman provides a commission or other consideration to the person located in Illinois based upon the sale of services by the serviceman.

For either of these nexus provisions apply, the cumulative gross receipts from sales of service by the serviceman to customers who are referred to the serviceman by all persons in Illinois under such contracts exceed $10,000 during the preceding 4 quarterly periods ending on the last day of March, June, September, and December.