(a) Establishment of video users' tax. There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person in the City using video services. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of 3.95% of the charges made for such services and shall be collected from the service user by the video service supplier or its billing agent. There is a rebuttable presumption that video services that are billed to a billing or service address in the City are used, in whole or in part, within the City's boundaries, and such services are subject to taxation under this chapter. If the billing address of the service user is different from the service address, the service address of the service user shall be used for purposes of imposing the tax.
(b) Video charges. As used in this section, the term “charges” shall include, but is not limited to, charges for the following:
(1) Regulatory fees and surcharges, franchise fees, and access fees (e.g., “PEG” fees), whether designated on the customer's bill or not.
(2) Initial installation of equipment necessary for provision and receipt of video services.
(3) Late fees, collection fees, bad debt recoveries, and return check fees.
(4) Activation fees, reactivation fees, and reconnection fees.
(5) Video programming and video services.
(6) Ancillary video services (e.g., electronic program guide services, recording functions, search functions, or other interactive services or communications that are ancillary, necessary or common to the use or enjoyment of video services).
(7) Equipment leases (e.g., remote, recording or search devices, converters, remote devices).
(8) Service calls, service protection plans, name changes, changes of services, and special services.
(9) The leasing of channel access (e.g., home shopping) to the extent that the service user is subject to an additional direct or indirect charge for programming or communications over the leased channel; provided that, in the absence of evidence of direct payment by the service user, the indirect payment of the service user(s), which is subject to the utility users’ tax, shall be deemed to be the lease payment to the video service supplier by the party leasing the channel access.
(c) Charges further defined. As used in this section, the term “charges” shall include the value of any other services, credits, property of every kind or nature, or other consideration provided by the service user in exchange for the video services.
(d) Survey of video service suppliers—Authority for administrative rulings. The Tax Administrator shall, from time to time, survey the video service suppliers in the City to identify the various components of the video service that are being offered to customers within the City, and the charges therefor. The Tax Administrator may, thereafter, issue and disseminate to such video service suppliers an administrative ruling identifying those components: (1) that are necessary or common to the receipt, use and enjoyment of video services; or (2) which currently are, or historically have been, included in a bundled rate for video service by a local distribution company. Charges for such components shall be subject to the tax of subsection (a) above.
(e) Collection of video users' tax. The tax imposed by this section shall be collected from the service user by the video service supplier, its billing agent, or a reseller of such services. In the case of video service, the service user shall be deemed to be the purchaser of the bulk video service (e.g., an apartment owner), unless such service is resold to individual users, in which case the service user shall be theultimate purchaser of the video service. The amount of tax collected in one month shall be remitted to the Tax Administrator, and must be received by the Tax Administrator on or before the twentieth day of the following month.
(Ord. 177, passed 11-6-2018)