Chapter 3.56
UTILITY USERS’ TAX
Sections:
3.56.010   Definitions.
3.56.020   Constitutional exemptions.
3.56.030   Telephone users’ tax.
3.56.040   Electricity users’ tax.
3.56.050   Gas users’ tax.
3.56.060   Water users’ tax.
3.56.070   Interest and penalty for payment failure.
3.56.080   Actions to collect tax from service users.
3.56.090   Duty to collect - Collection procedures.
3.56.100   Additional powers of finance director.
3.56.110   Refusal by service supplier to collect and report tax - Determination of tax by finance director.
3.56.120   Finance director may assume responsibility for collections - Payment demand to service user.
3.56.130   Appeals.
3.56.140   Records to be kept by service suppliers.
3.56.150   Refunds for overpayments and erroneous payments.
3.56.160   Violations a misdemeanor.
3.56.170   Conflicts with California Public Utilities Commission.
3.56.180   Certain uses exempt.
3.56.190   Refunds for low income persons.
3.56.200   Tax exemption for low income persons sixty years of age and older.
3.56.210   Tax exemption for agricultural irrigation.
3.56.010   Definitions.
   The following words and phrases, whenever used in this chapter, shall be construed as defined in this section, except where the context requires otherwise:
   A.   “Electrical corporation,” “gas corporation,” “telephone corporation” and “water corporation” shall have the same meanings as defined in Sections 218, 222, 234 and 241, respectively, of the Public Utilities Code of the state.
   B.   “Service supplier” shall mean any person required to collect a tax imposed under the provisions of this chapter.
   C.   “Service user” shall mean a person required to pay a tax imposed under the provisions of this chapter.
(Prior code § 25.100 (Ord. 924 §1, Ord. 1111 §50))
3.56.020   Constitutional 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 in violation of the Constitution of the United States or that of the state.
(Prior code § 25.101 (Ord. 924 §1))
3.56.030   Telephone users’ tax.
   A.   There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person in the city using intrastate telephone communication services in the city, except as provided by Sections 3.56.180 and 3.56.200. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of five percent of the charges made for such services, including minimum charges for service, 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 term “telephone communications services” include land mobile services or maritime mobile services as defined in Section 2.1 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations, as such section existed on October 1, 1967.
   C.   The tax imposed in this section shall be collected from the service user by the person providing the intrastate telephone communications services. The amount of tax collected in one month shall be remitted to the finance director 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 communications 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, as such section existed on November 1, 1967.
(Prior code § 25.102 (Ord. 924 §1 Ord. 1548 §1, Ord. 2113 §1))
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