HomeMy WebLinkAbout1970 - Amending Titile 4 IIP
ORDINANCE 1970
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDDING
AMENDING REDDING MUNICIPAL CODE TITLE 4, REVENUE AND
FINANCE, BY REPEALING CHAPTER 4.06 IN ITS ENTIRETY AND
ADDING A NEW CHAPTER 4.06, UTILITY USERS' TAX.
The City Council of the City of Redding does hereby ordain
as follows:
Section 1. Title 4, REVENUE AND FINANCE, of the Redding
Municipal Code is hereby amended by repealing Chapter 4.06 in its
entirety, and adding a new Chapter 4 . 06 as follows:
Chapter 4.06
UTILITY USERS' TAX
Sections:
4 .06 .010 Title
4 . 06. 020 Definitions
4 . 06 . 030 Constitutional Exemption
4 . 06 . 035 Governmental Agency Exemption
4 .06. 040 Telephone Users' Tax
4 . 06 . 050 Electricity Users' Tax
4 .06 . 060 Gas Users' Tax
4 . 06. 065 Service Users Receiving Direct Purchase
of Gas or Electricity
4 .06 . 070 Water Users' Tax
4 . 06. 080 Cable Television Users' Tax
4 . 06.090 Penalty
4 . 06 .100 Actions to Collect
4 .06 .110 Duty to Collect; Procedures
4 . 06. 115 Remittance of Tax
4 . 06 .120 Additional Power and Duties of Tax
Administrator
4 . 06.130 Failure to Pay; Administrative Remedy
4 . 06.140 Records
4.06 .150 Refunds
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4 . 06. 160 Taxes: Separate Accounting; Quarterly
Reports; Annual Review
4 .06.170 Exemptions
4 . 06.180 Severability
4 . 06 .190 Establishment of Tax Rates
4 .06 .200 Establishment of Maximum Amount of Taxes.
4.06.010. Title.
This chapter shall be known as the "Utility Users' Tax."
4.06.020. Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and
phrases when used in this chapter shall have the meanings
respectively ascribed to them by this section:
A. "City" means the City of Redding.
B. "Month" means a calendar month.
C. "Person" means any domestic or foreign corporation, firm,
association, syndicate, joint stock company, partnership of
any kind, joint venture, club, Massachusetts business or
common law trust, society, or individuals.
D. "Service supplier" means a person required to collect and
remit a tax imposedby this chapter.
E. "Service user" means a person required to pay a tax imposed
by this chapter.
F. "Tax Administrator" means the Director of Finance of the
City of Redding.
G. "Telephone corporation," "electrical corporation, " "gas
corporation," "water corporation," and "cable television
corporation" mean the same as they are defined in Sections
234, 218, 222, 241 , and 215-5 , respectively, of the Public
Utilities Code of the State of California as said sections
existed on January 1, 1975 .
"Electrical corporation" and "water corporation" shall be
construed to include any municipality or franchised agency
engaged in the selling or supplying of electrical power and
water, respectively, to a service user.
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4.06.030. Constitutional Exemption.
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as imposing a tax
upon any person when the imposition of such tax upon such person
would be in violation of the Constitution of the United States or
State of California.
4.06.035. Governmental Agency Exemption.
An exemption to the tax imposed by this chapter is hereby
granted to every "governmental agency. " For purposes of this
exemption, "governmental agency" is defined and limited as
follows:
A. The federal government of the United States, the State of
California, a political subdivision thereof, and a municipal
corporation.
B. Any "local agency" of the State for the local performance of
governmental or proprietary functions within limited
boundaries , as defined by Government Code §53090.
C. Any board, commission, or committee of "A" or "B" above on
which officers of such agency sit in their official capacity
as members, and which is supported in whole by funds
provided by such agency.
4.06.040. Telephone Users° Tax.
A. There is hereby imposed a tax on the amounts paid for any
intrastate, interstate, and international telephone
communication services by every person, other than a
telephone corporation, in the City using such services. The
tax imposed by this section shall be set by Resolution and
shall not exceed the rate of Seven percent (7%) 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 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. In addition thereto, the
term "charges" shall not include charges for any type of
service or equipment furnished by a service supplier subject
to public utility regulation during any period in which the
same or similar services or equipment are also available for
sale or lease from persons other than a service supplier
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subject to public utility regulation.
C. As used in this section, the term "telephone communication
services" shall not include land mobile services or maritime
mobile services as defined in Section 2 .1 of Title 47 of the
Code of Federal Regulations as said section existed on
June 1, 1983 . The term "telephone communication services"
refers to that service which provides access to a telephone
system and the privilege of telephone quality communication
with substantially all persons having telephone stations
which are part of such telephone system.
D. The telephone users' tax imposed by this section is intended
to and does apply to all charges billed to a telephone
account having a situs in the City, irrespective of whether
a particular communication service originates and/or
terminates within the City. It, however, does not include
charges incurred by City in providing services to its
citizens.
E. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A, the tax
imposed under this section shall not be imposed upon any
person for using intrastate, interstate, and international
telephone communication services to the extent that the
amounts paid for such services are exempt from or not
subject to the tax imposed under Division 2, Part 20, of the
California Revenue and Taxation Code, or the tax imposed
under Section 4251 of the Internal Revenue Code.
4.06.050. Electricity Users' Tax.
A. There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person in the City
using electrical energy in the City. The tax imposed by
this section shall be set by Resolution and shall not exceed
the rate of Seven percent (7%) of the charges made for such
services, and shall be paid by the person paying for such
energy.
B. As used in this section, the term "charges" shall include
charges made for:
( 1) Metered energy; and
( 2) Minimum charges for service, including, but not limited
to, customer charges, service charges, demand charges,
standby charges, annual and monthly charges, fuel, cost
adjustments, etc.
C. As used in this section, the term "using electrical energy"
shall not be construed to mean the storage of such energy by
a person in a battery owned or possessed by him for use in
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an automobile or other machinery or device apart from the
premises upon which the energy was received; provided,
however, that the term shall include the receiving of such
energy for the purpose of using it in the charging of
batteries. In addition, the term "using electrical energy"
shall not include (1) electricity used and consumed by an
electric utility supplier in the conduct of its business as
an electric public utility; ( 2) the mere receiving of such
energy by an electric public utility or governmental agency
at a point within the City for resale; or ( 3) the use of
such energy in the production or distribution of water by a
public utility or a governmental agency.
4.06.060. Gas Users' Tax.
A. There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person in the City,
other than a gas corporation or electrical corporation using
in the City gas which is delivered through mains or pipes.
The tax imposed by this section shall be set by Resolution
and shall not exceed the rate of Seven percent (7%) of the
charges made for such services, and shall be paid by the
person paying for such gas.
B. As used in this section, the term "charges" shall include:
( 1) Gas which is delivered through mains or pipes; and
( 2) Minimum charges for such services, including, but not
limited to, customer charges, service charges, and
annual and monthly charges.
C. There shall be excluded from the base on which the tax
imposed by this section is computed:
( 1) Charges made for gas which is to be resold and
delivered through mains or pipes;
( 2) Charges made for gas sold for use in the generation of
electrical energy or for the production or distribution
of water by a public utility or governmental agency;
( 3) Charges made by a gas public utility for gas used and
consumed in the conduct of the business of gas public
utilities; and
( 4) Charges made for gas used in the propulsion of a motor
vehicle, as the same is defined in the California
Vehicle Code, utilizing natural gas.
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4.06.065. Service Users Receiving Direct Purchase
of Gas or Electricity.
A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Ordinance, a
service user receiving gas or electricity directly from the
producer, or otherwise not having the full tax due, billed,
and collected by the service supplier, shall report said
fact to the Tax Administrator within thirty ( 30) days of
said use; and shall remit directly to the City the amount of
tax due.
B. The Tax Administrator may require from said service user the
filing of tax returns or other satisfactory evidence
documenting the sales price, or fair market value in the
absence of a sales price, and the quantity of gas or
electricity used.
4.06.070. Water Users' Tax.
A. There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person in the City
using water which is delivered through mains or pipes. The
tax imposed by this section shall be set by Resolution and
shall not exceed the rate of Seven percent (7%) of the
charges made for such services, and shall be paid by the
person paying for such service.
B. There shall be excluded from the base on which the tax
imposed under this section is computed:
(1) Charges made for water which is to be resold and
delivered through mains or pipes; and
( 2) Charges made by a municipal water department, public
utility, or a county or municipal water district for
water used and consumed by such department, utility, or
district.
4.06.080. Cable Television Users' Tax.
There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person in the City
using cable television service. The tax imposed by this section
shallbe set by Resolution and shall not exceed the rate of Seven
percent (7%) of the charges made for such services, and shall be
paid by the person paying for such service.
4.06.090. Penalty.
A. Taxes collected from a service user which are not remitted
to the Tax Administrator on or before the due dates provided
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in this chapter shall be delinquent.
B. Penalties for delinquency in remittance of any tax collected
or any deficiency determination pursuant to this chapter
shall attach to and be paid by the person required to
collect and remit at the rate of 15 percent (15%) of the
total tax collected or imposed by this chapter , and interest
at the legal rate at the discretion of the Tax
Administrator.
C. The Tax Administrator is hereby empowered to impose
additional penalties upon persons required to collect and
remit taxes under the provisions of this chapter for fraud
or negligence in reporting or remitting at the rate of 15
percent ( 15%) of the amount of tax collected or as
recomputed by the Tax Administrator, and interest at the
legal rate at the discretion of the Tax Administrator.
D. The penalties and interest imposed under the provisions of
this section shall become a part of the tax required to be
remitted.
4.06.100. Actions to Collect.
Any such tax received from a service user which has been
withheld from the Tax Administrator shall be deemed a debt owed
to the City by the person required to collect and remit. Any
person holding such money contrary to the provisions of this
chapter shall be liable to an action brought in the name of the
City for the recovery of such amount.
4.06.110. 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 at the same time as and along
with the charges made in accordance with the regular billing
practices of the service supplier. Where the payment
collected by a service provider for its billing period, or a
portion thereof , is less than the total due and owing for
such period, the amount collected from the service user
shall first be applied by billing period to the utility
charge until such charge has been fully satisfied. The
remainder of the payment, if any, shall be applied to the
taxes due. The payment for utility charges and taxes shall
be applied as set forth herein for each subsequent billing
period only after the taxes from the prior billing period
have been satisfied in full, including penalties and
interest.
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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 the enacting resolution. Where a person
receives more than one billing, one or more being for
different periods, the duty to collect shall arise
separately for each billing period.
4.06.115. Remittance of Tax.
A. Each service supplier shall, on or before the last day of
each month, make a return to the Tax Administrator, on forms
approved by him, stating the amount of taxes billed by the
service supplier during the preceding month. At the time
the return is filed, the full amount of the tax collected
shall be remitted to the Tax Administrator. The Tax
Administrator is authorized to require such further
information as he deems necessary to properly determine if
the tax here imposed is being levied and collected in
accordance with this chapter. Returns and remittances are
due immediately upon cessation of business for any reason.
B. At the option of the service supplier, an estimated amount
of tax collected measured by the tax billed in the previous
month shall be remitted to the Tax Administrator on or
before the last day of each month.
4.06.120. Additional Power and Duties of Tax Administrator.
A. It shall be the duty of the Tax Administrator to enforce
each and all of the provisions of this chapter.
B. The Tax Administrator may adopt administrative rules and
regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this
chapter for the purpose of implementing and enforcing the
payment, collection, and remittance of the taxes herein
imposed.
C. The Tax Administrator may make administrative agreements to.
vary the strict requirements of this chapter so that
collection of any tax imposed herein may be made in
conformance with the billing procedures of a particular
service supplier, so long as said agreements result in the
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 in the office of the Tax
Administrator.
D. The Tax Administrator shall provide notice to all service
suppliers, at least 90 days prior to any annexation or other
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change in the City' s boundaries. Said notice shall set
forth the revised boundaries by street and address, along
with a copy of the final annexation order from the
conducting authority. Failure to make this notice in a
timely manner relieves the service supplier from obligation
to collect the tax, but such obligation shall commence 90
days after notice is received.
4.06.130. Failure to Pay; Administrative Remedy.
A. The Tax Administrator may make an assessment for taxes not
paid or remitted by a person required to pay or remit.
B. Whenever the Tax Administrator determines that a service
user has deliberately withheld the amount of the tax owed by
him from the amounts remitted to a service supplier, or that
a service user has failed to pay the amount of the tax for a
period of two or more billing periods, or whenever the Tax
Administrator deems it in the best interests of the City, he
may relieve the service supplier of the obligation to
collect taxes due under this chapter from certain named
service users for specified billing periods.
C. The service supplier shall provide the City, as a matter of
routine, with the amounts refused, along with the names,
addresses, and reasons of the service users for refusing to
pay the tax imposed under the provisions of this chapter.
D. The Tax Administrator shall notify the service user that he
has assumed responsibility to collect the taxes due for 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 depositing the notice in the United
States mail, postage prepaid thereon, addressed to the
service user at the address to which billing was made by the
person required to collect the tax; or should the service
user have changed his address, to his last known address.
E. If a service user fails to remit the tax to the Tax
Administrator within fifteen (15) days from the date of
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 ( 25%) 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 or remitted.
F. Nothing in this section shall relieve the service supplier
of any duty to collect and remit any tax, penalty, or
interest due under the provisions of this chapter.
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4.06.140. Records.
It shall be the duty of every person 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 as he may have been
liable for the collection of and remittance to the Tax
Administrator, which records the Tax Administrator shall have the
right to inspect at all reasonable times.
4.06.150. Refunds.
A. Whenever the amount of any tax 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 grounds 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. 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 has been established that the person
from whom the tax has been collected did not owe the tax.
C. 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, but only when the
service user having paid the tax to the service supplier
establishes to the satisfaction of the Tax Administrator
that the service user has been unable to obtain a refund
from the service supplier who collected the tax.
4.06.160. Taxes: Separate Accounting; Quarterly Reports;
Annual Review.
A. The Tax Administrator shall establish a "Utility Users' Tax
Account" as a separate account, and shall place therein any
and all of the taxes collected under this chapter.
B. Commencing on September 30, 1991, and quarterly thereafter,
the Tax Administrator shall prepare a report to be furnished
to the City Council and the City Manager of the amount of
all of the taxes collected under this chapter and the
disposition of same, including the balance, if any, in the
Utility Users' Tax Account, for the previous quarter.
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adopted on the 24th day of September , 1991 ,. at a regular meeting
of the City Council by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Arness, Buffum, Fulton & Moss
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Dahl
ABSTAIN: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
// - 2:2:2211
CHARLIE MOSS , Vice Mayor
City of Redding
ATTEST:
&E4-42,77AleY,ra
ETHEL A. NICHOLS, City Clerk
FORM APPROVED:
'ALL A. HAYS, leity Attorney
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