Chapter 3-28
DISTRIBUTOR FUEL TAX
Sections:
3-28-040 Payment on retail purchase.
3-28-060 Registration—Return—Filing.
3-28-080 Commission on tax paid when due.
3-28-090 Failure to pay or file—Penalties and interest.
3-28-110 Sales and uses presumed taxable—Burden of proof.
Prior legislation: Ord. 3262.
3-28-010 Title.
This chapter shall be known and cited as the “city of Harvey distributor fuel tax ordinance,” and the tax imposed herein shall be known and cited as the “Harvey distributor fuel tax.” (Ord. 3290 § 1(1(a)), 2013)
3-28-020 Definitions.
Whenever used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:
A. “Distributor” or “fuel distributor” means any person who produces, refines, blends, compounds or manufactures fuel in the city, or transports or has transported fuel to any location in the city, or receives in the city fuel on which the Harvey distributor fuel tax has not been paid, or sells or distributes fuel to a retail dealer for resale in the city. “Distributor” shall include any person who transports fuel into the city or delivers fuel in the city for sale or resale.
B. “Person” means any individual, firm, trust, estate, partnership, association, corporation, joint venture, joint stock company, receiver, trustee, conservator, legal representative, or other legally recognized entity.
C. “Retail dealer” or “retail fuel dealer” means any person who is engaged in the business of selling fuel in the city to a purchaser for the purchaser’s use or consumption, and not for resale in any form.
D. “Sale,” “resale,” or “purchase” means any transfer of ownership or title or both, any exchange or any barter, whether conditional or otherwise, in any manner or by any means whatsoever for consideration.
E. “Sale at retail” means any sale to a person for that person’s use or consumption and not for resale to another.
F. “Tax” means Harvey distributor fuel tax.
G. “Use” means the exercise of any right to or power over fuel incident to the ownership thereof, including, but not limited to, the receipt of fuel by any person into a fuel supply tank of a retailer and/or distributor.
H. “Vehicle” means any machine or device in, upon or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a rail, street, road, highway or otherwise on land, in or upon water, or through the air. “Vehicle” includes without limitation automobiles, trucks, buses, trains, motorcycles, boats, airplanes, and helicopters.
I. “Fuel” means any volatile and inflammable liquid or gas produced, blended or compounded for the purpose of or which is suitable for operating a motor vehicle, or which is used in propelling a motor vehicle. “Motor fuel” includes without limitations gasoline, gasohol, diesel oil, motor benzol, motor benzene, propane gas fuel, kerosene and “special fuel” as defined in the Illinois Motor Fuel Tax Law. (Ord. 3290 § 1(1(b)), 2013)
3-28-030 Tax imposed.
A tax is hereby imposed upon the privilege of distributing, selling, and/or delivering fuel in the city of Harvey. The tax shall be at a rate of three cents per gallon of fuel. The ultimate incidence of and liability for payment of the tax shall be upon the distributor, and nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impose a tax upon the occupation of selling fuel. It shall be a violation of this chapter for any distributor to fail to add this tax to the retail price of fuel or to absorb the tax. The tax shall be in addition to any and all other taxes. (Ord. 3290 § 1(2), 2013)
3-28-040 Payment on retail purchase.
“Use in the city” shall be deemed to occur only at the place in the city where the fuel is transferred and/or delivered into the retailer or resale storage facility by which it is to be stored, sold and/or consumed. To the extent that a person has paid to receive, has transported and/or delivered a known quantity of fuel for the sole purpose of retail and/or resale to the general public, the tax imposed herein shall be on the distribution of fuel. The retailer shall be exempt from the payment of and liability for said tax on the delivery of such fuel. (Ord. 3290 § 1(3), 2013)
3-28-050 Collection.
The Harvey distributor fuel tax shall be collected by each distributor who sells such fuel to a retail fuel dealer doing business in the city. Any distributor who shall pay the tax to the city shall collect the tax for any/all fuel from any retailer to whom the distributor sells fuel. Any distributor who sells fuel directly to a purchaser or user, for delivery in the city, and not for resale, shall collect and pay the tax for the quantity delivered to the purchaser or user.
If any retail fuel dealer receives fuel upon which the Harvey distributor fuel tax has not been collected by the distributor, the retail dealer shall remit such tax directly to the finance director by the last day of the month following the month in which he received such fuel, and shall collect such tax from his distributors. Any tax remittance required to be made directly to the city shall be made to the finance director and shall be accompanied by a remittance form prescribed by the finance director.
Any person who collects the Harvey distributor fuel tax shall do so as a trustee for and on account of the city of Harvey. (Ord. 3290 § 1(4), 2013)
3-28-060 Registration—Return—Filing.
Every fuel distributor doing business on July 31, 2013, shall register with the finance director by August 30, 2013. Every person becoming a distributor after that date shall register with the finance director within thirty (30) days after the commencement of such business. Every distributor shall file each month with the finance director a remittance return, containing a report of his sales of fuel to retail dealers or users in the city occurring in the prior month. The return shall be in a form prescribed and furnished by the finance director. If mailed, the return must be postmarked on or before the last day of the month following the month for which the report is due. Each such return shall be accompanied by a remittance of the appropriate amount of tax applicable to the sales reported. Payment shall be made to the finance director. (Ord. 3290 § 1(5), 2013)
3-28-070 Inventory report.
By August 30, 2013, every distributor of motor fuel shall file with the finance director, on forms supplied by the finance director for that purpose, an inventory of all fuel in the distributor’s and/or supplier’s possession on July 31, 2013, at 12:01 a.m. The owner or chief executive officer of the distributor and/or supplier shall sign the inventory report and attest under oath to its accuracy. With the inventory report, the distributor shall pay to the city the Harvey distributor fuel tax due on the supplying, delivering and/or sale of all fuel delivered and/or scheduled to be delivered within the city. (Ord. 3290 § 1(6), 2013)
3-28-080 Commission on tax paid when due.
A distributor remitting the tax to the city shall be entitled to a commission of one (1) percent of the remitted tax, to compensate him for the cost of collection, filing returns, and supplying information to the finance director, but in no event shall any commission be allowed on any tax not remitted when due. (Ord. 3290 § 1(7), 2013)
3-28-090 Failure to pay or file—Penalties and interest.
Failure to pay or remit the tax or to file the remittance return required by this chapter shall be subject to the following penalties and interest:
A. Any tax not paid or remitted when due shall bear interest at the rate of two (2) percent per month, or fraction thereof, until the tax is paid or remitted;
B. In addition to any interest charged, any person who fails to pay or to remit the tax when due shall be subject to a late penalty of ten (10) percent of such tax;
C. In addition to any interest or penalty charged above, any distributor and/or person who fails to file a remittance return when due shall be subject to a late filing penalty of ten (10) percent of the total tax liability due for the reporting period.
Where the failure to pay or to remit the tax or to file the remittance return in a timely manner is due to reasonable cause beyond the control of the person charged with filling and paying the tax, the penalties described in subsections B and C of this section may be waived by the finance director. (Ord. 3290 § 1(8), 2013)
3-28-100 Recordkeeping.
Every distributor and every retail dealer required to collect and remit the tax imposed herein shall keep accurate and complete books and records of his business of selling fuel, including the maintenance of all invoices and other source documents. Every purchaser or user shall keep accurate and complete books and records of his purchases and uses of fuel in the city. (Ord. 3290 § 1(9), 2013)
3-28-110 Sales and uses presumed taxable—Burden of proof.
It shall be presumed that all sales and uses of fuel in the city are subject to tax under this chapter until the contrary is established. The burden of proving that a sale or use is not taxable hereunder shall be upon the distributor, retail dealer, purchaser or user so claiming. (Ord. 3290 § 1(10), 2013)
3-28-120 Exemptions.
The tax imposed by this chapter shall not apply to the following sales or uses of fuel:
A. Sale by a distributor to another distributor holding a valid registration certificate;
B. Sale by a distributor to a retailer of fuel whose place of business is outside the city;
C. Sale or use for purposes other than for propulsion or operation of a motor vehicle;
D. Sale to or use by “transportation agency” as defined in the Regional Transportation Authority Act, which is operated by, receiving a grant from or has a service agreement with the Regional Transportation Authority or any of its service boards;
E. Sale or use to the extent the tax imposed by this chapter would violate the Illinois or United States Constitution;
F. Sale to or use by the federal government or any state or local governmental body;
G. Sale to or use by any air common carrier, certified by the carrier to be used for consumption, shipment or storage in the conduct of its business as an air common carrier, for a flight destined for a destination outside the United States. (Ord. 3290 § 1(11), 2013)