A. There is hereby imposed a tax upon every person using gas in the city, which is delivered through a pipeline distribution system. The tax imposed by this section shall be at the rate of eleven percent (11%) of the charges made for such gas, including all services related to the storage, transportation and delivery of such gas.
B. As used in this section, the CHARGES shall include:
1. The community charges for purchased gas, or the cost of gas owned by the service user (including the actual costs attributed to drilling, production, lifting, storage, gathering, trunkline, pipeline, and other operating costs associated with the production and delivery of such gas), which is delivered through a gas pipeline distribution system or by mobile transport;
2. Gas transportation charges (including interstate charges to the extent not included in commodity charges);
3. Storage charges; provided, however, that the service supplier shall not be required to apply the tax to any charges for gas storage services when the service supplier cannot, as a practical matter, determine the jurisdiction where such stored gas in ultimately used; but it shall be the obligation of the service user to self-collect the amount of tax not applied to any charge for gas storage by the service supplier, and to remit the tax to the appropriate jurisdiction;
4. Capacity or demand charges, service establishment or reestablishment charges, transition charges, customer charges, minimum charges, annual and monthly charges, and any other charges, which are necessary or common to the receipt, use and enjoyment of gas service; and
5. Charges, fees, or surcharges for gas services or programs, which are mandated by the California Public Utilities Commission or the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, whether or not such charges, fees, or surcharges appear on a bundled or line item basis on the customer billing.
C. The Tax Administrator shall, from time to time, survey the gas service suppliers to identify the various unbundled billing components of gas retail service that they commonly provide to residential and commercial/ industrial customers in the city, and the charges therefor, including those items that are mandated by state or federal regulatory agencies as a condition of providing such gas service. The Tax Administrator may, thereafter, issue and disseminate to such gas service suppliers an administrative ruling identifying those components and items that are: i) necessary or common to the receipt, use and enjoyment of gas service; or ii) currently, or historically have been, included in a single or bundled rate for gas service by a local distribution company to a class of retail customers. Unbundled charges for such components and items shall be subject to the tax of subsection A. above.
D. 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 gas or services related to the delivery of such gas.
E. There shall be excluded from the base on which the tax is imposed in this section is computed: (1) charges made for gas that is to be resold and delivered through a pipeline distribution system; (2) charges made for gas to be used in the generation of electricity by an electrical corporation; (3) charges made by a gas public utility for gas used and consumed in the conduct of the business of gas public utilities; (4) charges made for gas used in the propulsion of a motor vehicle, as defined in the California Vehicle Code, utilizing natural gas; and (5) charges made for gas used by a non-utility service supplier to generate electricity for its own use or for sale to others, provided the electricity so generated is subject to the tax in accordance with § 3.08.215 of this subchapter.
F. The tax that is calculated on charges for gas provided by self-production or by a non-utility service supplier not under the jurisdiction of this chapter shall be collected and remitted in the manner set forth in § 3.08.222 of this subchapter. All other taxes on charges for gas imposed by this section shall be collected from the service user by the gas service supplier or its billing agent. 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; or, at the option of the person required to collect and/or remit the tax, such person shall remit an estimated amount of tax, measured by the tax billed in the previous month or upon the payment pattern of the service user, which must be received by the Tax Administrator on or before the twentieth day of the following month. If a gas service supplier uses a billing agent or billing aggregator to bill, collect, and/or remit the tax, the service supplier shall: i) provide to the Tax Administrator the name, address and telephone number of each billing agent and billing aggregator currently authorized by the service supplier to bill, collect, and/or remit the tax to the city; and ii) upon request of the Tax Administrator, deliver, or effect the delivery of, any information or records in the possession of such billing agent or billing aggregator that, in the opinion of the Tax Administrator, is necessary to verify the proper application, calculation, collection and/or remittance of such tax to the city.
('65 Code, § 33B-5) (Ord. No. CS-621 § 1 (part); Ord. No. CS-829 § 3; Ord. No. 84-011 § 3; Ord. No. 94-025 §§ 3, 4; Am. Ord. No. 2000-001§ 1 (part); Ord. No. 2008-007½ § 4)