Chapter 3.36
UTILITY USERS TAX
Sections:
3.36.010 Definitions.
3.36.020 Exemptions.
3.36.030 Telephone users tax.
3.36.040 Electricity and gas users tax.
3.36.050 Water users tax.
3.36.060 Cable television users tax.
3.36.070 Maximum amount payable.
3.36.080 Actions to collect.
3.36.090 Duty to collect – Procedures.
3.36.100 Powers and duties of tax administrator.
3.36.110 Administrative agreements.
3.36.120 Interest and penalty.
3.36.130 Failure of service user to pay.
3.36.140 Records.
3.36.150 Refunds.
3.36.160 California Public Utilities Commission jurisdiction.
3.36.170 Operative date – Repeal.
3.36.010 Definitions.
Except where the context otherwise requires, the definitions contained in this section shall govern the construction of this chapter:
A. “Cable television corporation,” “electrical corporation,” “gas corporation,” “telephone corporation,” and “water corporation” shall have the same meanings as defined in Section 215.5, 218, 222, 234, and 241, respectively, of the Public Utilities Code of the state of California.
B. “Service supplier” means a person required to collect and remit a tax imposed under the provisions of this chapter.
C. “Service user” means a person required to pay a tax imposed under the provisions of this chapter.
D. “Tax administrator” means the Administrative Services Director of the City. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1895 § 5, 2010; Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.100)
3.36.020 Exemptions.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as imposing a tax upon any person when imposition of such tax upon that person would be a violation of the Constitutions of the United States and California. Additionally, this tax shall not be imposed on any governmental entity. The tax administrator shall prepare a list of the persons exempt from the provisions of this chapter by virtue of this section and furnish a copy thereof to each service supplier. (Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.101)
3.36.030 Telephone users tax.
A. There is imposed a tax upon every person in the City, other than a telephone corporation, using intrastate telephone communication services in the City. The tax imposed by this section shall be at a rate of three percent of the charges made for such services, and shall be paid by the person paying for such services.
B. As used in this section, the term “charges” shall not include charges for services paid for by inserting coins in coin-operated telephones except that where such coin-operated telephone service is furnished for a guaranteed amount, the amounts paid under such guarantee plus any fixed monthly or other periodic charge shall be included in the base for computing the amount of tax due nor shall the words “telephone communication services” include land mobile services or maritime mobile services as defined in Section 2.1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
C. The tax imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user by the person providing the intrastate telephone communication services. The amount of tax collected in one month shall be remitted to the tax administrator on or before the last day of the following month.
D. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A of this section, the tax imposed under this section shall not be imposed upon any person for using intrastate telephone communication services to the extent that the amounts paid for such services are exempt from or not subject to the tax imposed under Section 4251 of Title 26 of the United States Code. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.102)
3.36.040 Electricity and gas users tax.
A. There is imposed a tax upon every person in the City, other than an electrical corporation or a gas corporation, using electrical energy in the City.
As used in this subsection, the words “using electrical energy” shall not be construed to mean the use of such energy from a storage battery; provided, however, that the term shall include the receiving of such energy for the purpose of using it in the charging of storage batteries.
As used in this subsection, the words “using electrical energy” shall not be construed to mean the receiving of such energy by an electrical corporation or a governmental agency at a point within the City for resale.
B. There is imposed a tax upon every person in the City, other than a gas corporation or an electrical corporation, using gas in the City which is delivered through mains or pipes.
As used in this subsection, the word “charges” shall not include charges made for gas used in the generation of electrical energy by a public utility or a governmental agency.
As used in this subsection, the words “using gas” shall not be construed to mean the receiving of such gas by a gas corporation or governmental agency at a point within the City for resale.
C. The taxes imposed by this section shall be at the rate of three percent of the monthly charges for such gas and electricity and shall be paid by the person paying for such gas and electricity.
D. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection C of this section, the taxes imposed by this section shall be imposed on monthly charges per account in excess of $10.00 for any gas account and $15.00 for any electric account.
E. The taxes imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user by the person selling the electrical energy and gas. The amount collected in one month shall be remitted to the tax administrator on or before the last day of the following month. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.103)
3.36.050 Water users tax.
A. There is imposed a tax upon every person in the City, other than a water corporation, using water in the City which is delivered through mains or pipes. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of three percent of the charges made for such water, and shall be paid by the person paying for such water.
B. The tax imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user by the person selling the water. The amount collected in one month shall be remitted to the tax administrator on or before the last day of the following month. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.104)
3.36.060 Cable television users tax.
A. There is imposed a tax upon every person in the City using cable television service in the City. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of three percent of the charges made for such service, and shall be paid by the person paying for such service.
B. The tax imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user by the person providing such cable television service. The amount of tax collected in one month shall be remitted to the tax administrator on or before the last day of the following month. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.105)
3.36.070 Maximum amount payable.
A. The combined total maximum of taxes paid by any single service user for one location under this chapter shall not exceed the sum of $10,000 during any 12-month period between July 1st and June 30th.
B. A service user may deposit the maximum tax specified in subsection A of this section with the tax administrator during the month of July of each year as payment in full and in advance of taxes due under this chapter for the 12-month period commencing on the first day of the month and ending on June 30th thereafter. Any service user making said payment in July of any given year shall not thereafter be billed for any tax under this code for that 12-month period.
C. The penalty assessment provided in this chapter shall not be counted in computing the maximum tax as provided in subsection A of this section.
D. Any service user paying more than the maximum tax provided for in subsection A of this section during the 12-month period commencing July 1st and ending June 30th, may claim a refund or credit for such overpayment in the manner provided in LMC 3.36.150.
E. The phrase “one location” as used in subsection A of this section shall mean one or more contiguous sites for which the service user receives one or more utility billings. (Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.106)
3.36.080 Actions to collect.
Any tax required to be paid by a service user under the provisions of this chapter shall be deemed a debt owed by the service user to the City. Any such tax collected from a service user which has not been remitted to the tax administrator shall be deemed a debt owed to the City by the person required to collect and remit. Any person owing money to the City under the provisions of this chapter shall be liable to an action brought in the name of the City for the recovery of such amount. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.107)
3.36.090 Duty to collect – Procedures.
The duty to collect and remit the taxes imposed by this chapter shall be performed as follows:
A. The tax shall be collected insofar as practicable at the same time as and along with the charges made in accordance with regular billing practice of the service supplier. Except in those cases where a service user pays the full amount of said charges but does not pay any portion of a tax imposed by this chapter, or where a service user has notified a service supplier that he is refusing to pay a tax imposed by this chapter which said service supplier is required to collect, if the amount paid by a service user is less than the full amount of the charge and tax has accrued for the billing period, a proportionate share of both the charge and the tax shall be deemed to have been paid.
B. The duty to collect tax from a service user shall commence with the beginning of the first regular billing period applicable to that person which starts on or after the operative date of this chapter. Where a person receives more than one billing, one or more being for different periods than another, the duty to collect shall arise separately for each billing period. (Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.108)
3.36.100 Powers and duties of tax administrator.
The tax administrator shall have the power to enforce the provisions of this chapter. The tax administrator shall have power to adopt rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter for the purpose of carrying out and enforcing the payment, collection and remittance of the taxes herein imposed; and a copy of such rules and regulations shall be on file and available for public examination in the tax administrator’s office. (Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.109)
3.36.110 Administrative agreements.
The tax administrator may make administrative agreements to vary the strict requirements of this chapter so that collection and remittance of any tax imposed herein may be made in conformance with the billing procedures of a particular service supplier so long as the overall result of the agreements results in collection of the tax in conformance with the general purpose and scope of this chapter. A copy of each such agreement shall be on file and available for public examination in the tax administrator’s office. (Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.110)
3.36.120 Interest and penalty.
A. Taxes collected from a service user which are not remitted to the tax administrator on or before the due dates provided in this chapter are delinquent. Any tax billed to a service user but not paid to the service supplier shall not be deemed an obligation of the service supplier unless such tax is thereafter paid to the service supplier.
B. In addition to remitting the amount of the tax, any service supplier who fails to remit any tax imposed by this chapter within the time required, and upon 10 days’ written notice to the service supplier of its failure to remit, shall pay a penalty of 10 percent of the amount of the tax.
C. If the tax administrator determines that the nonpayment of any service supplier of any remittance due under this chapter is due to fraud, a penalty of 25 percent of the amount of the tax shall be added thereto in addition to the penalties stated above.
D. Every penalty imposed under the provisions of this section shall become a part of the tax required to be remitted. (Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.111)
3.36.130 Failure of service user to pay.
A. Whenever the tax administrator determines that a service user has deliberately withheld the amount of any tax on him by the provisions of this chapter from the amounts remitted to a service supplier required to collect the tax, or that a service user has failed to pay the amount of the tax to such service supplier for a period of four or more billing periods, or whenever the tax administrator deems it in the best interest of the City, he shall relieve such service supplier of the obligation to collect taxes due under this chapter from certain named service users for specified billing periods. The tax administrator shall notify the service user that he has assumed responsibility to collect the taxes due to the stated periods and demand payment of such taxes. The notice shall be served on the service user by handing it to him personally or by deposit of the notice in the United State mail, postage prepaid thereon, addressed to the service user at the address to which billing was made by the service supplier required to collect the tax; or, should the service user have changed his address, to his last known address. If a service user fails to remit the tax to the tax administrator within 15 days from the date of the date of the service of the notice upon him, which shall be the date of mailing if service is not accomplished in person, a penalty of 25 percent of the amount of the tax set forth in the notice shall be imposed, but not less than $5.00. The penalty shall become part of the tax herein required to be paid.
B. In addition to the penalties imposed, any service user who fails to pay any tax imposed by this chapter shall pay interest at the rate of one-half of one percent per month or fraction thereof on the amount of the tax, exclusive of penalties, from the date on which the payment first became delinquent until paid. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.112)
3.36.140 Records.
It shall be the duty of every service supplier required to collect and remit to the City any tax imposed by this chapter to keep and preserve, for a period of three years, all records as may be necessary to determine the amount of such tax such service supplier may have been required to collect and remit to the City, which records the tax administrator shall have the right to inspect at all reasonable times. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.113)
3.36.150 Refunds.
A. Filing Claim. Whenever the amount of any tax, interest, or penalty has been overpaid or paid more than once or has been erroneously or illegally collected or received by the City under this chapter, it may be refunded as provided in subsections B and C of this section provided a claim in writing therefor, stating under penalty of perjury the specific ground upon which the claim is founded, is filed with the tax administrator within three years of the date of payment. The claim shall be on forms furnished by the tax administrator.
B. Refund to Service Supplier. A service supplier may claim a refund or take as credit against taxes collected and remitted an amount overpaid, paid more than once or erroneously or illegally collected or received, when it is established that the person from whom the tax has been collected was not a service user.
C. Refund to Service User. Any service user may obtain a refund of taxes overpaid, or paid more than once, or erroneously or illegally collected or received by the City, by filing a claim in the manner provided in subsection A of this section.
D. No refund shall be paid under the provisions of this section unless the claimant establishes his right thereto by written records showing entitlement thereto. (Ord. 2065 § 1(A), 2018; Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.114)
3.36.160 California Public Utilities Commission jurisdiction.
Nothing contained in this chapter is intended to conflict with applicable rules, regulations and tariffs of any service supplier subject to the jurisdiction of the California Public Utilities Commission. In the event of any conflict, the provisions of said rules, regulations and tariffs shall control. (Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.115)
3.36.170 Operative date – Repeal.
The taxes imposed by this chapter shall become operative on September 1, 1983. This chapter shall be repealed as of June 30, 1984, or on the first day of the month following the month in which the amount of taxes imposed by this chapter and received by the tax administrator exceed $550,000, whichever occurs first. (Ord. 1141 § 1, 1983; 1960 code § 21.116)